With Better Call Saul winding down, Bob Odenkirk has already figured out his follow-up project: a series adaptation of Richard Russo‘s 1997 novel, Straight Man. The project will once again see Odenkirk team with AMC, who are fast-tracking the project and have already announced that it will premiere sometime in 2023.
Straight Man is a midlife crisis tale told in the first person by William Henry Devereaux Jr., the unlikely interim chairman of the English department of the extremely underfunded Railton College in the rust belt of Pennsylvania. The novel is a satire of the academic world that follows William’s escapades as he tries to navigate campus life.
The series will air on both AMC and AMC+. Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein will serve as the showrunners on the project, while Lieberstein will also direct episodes along with Peter Farrelly and Odenkirk himself. Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, said in a statement:
“Bob Odenkirk is just as good as it gets. We feel so fortunate to be developing a new show that would keep him at AMC after Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, two iconic series that have been beloved by millions of fans and helped define AMC and its reputation for unforgettable characters and high-quality storytelling for adults.”
Odenkirk himself added:
“I loved Paul and Aaron’s take on Richard’s excellent, entertaining novel […] This milieu seems very pertinent to the conversations we’re all having. I am drawn to the tone of humanity and humor in the novel and I look forward to playing this role – something lighter than my recent projects but still closely observed and smart.”
Odenkirk has been an AMC mainstay since Breaking Bad debuted all the way back in 2006, while prequel series Better Call Saul premiered in 2015. That show’s final season begins soon on Monday, April 18. AMC will be crossing their fingers that Straight Man can be the third part of a hugely successful Odenkirk trilogy of shows for them.
#Peace.Love.StraightMan
