David Schwimmer to Star in AMC’s Clyde Phillips Drama ‘Feed the Beast’

Friends alum David Schwimmer is sticking with the small screen.

The actor, who next appears as Robert Kardashian in FX anthology The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, has been tapped to star in AMC’s Feed the Beast. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) will co-star.

The drama, picked up straight to series in June, revolves around Tommy (Schwimmer) and Dion (Sturgess), friends who are like brothers. Dion can’t stay out of trouble. Tommy can’t move past it. For two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening up an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around. They push one another to follow through on their dreams, welcome love into their lives and overcome their demons.

They also betray, backstab, manipulate and coerce each other into the most dangerous situations imaginable. For Tommy, a successful haute Hellenic restaurant is his means to give his son a life he never had. For Dion, this venture is a perfect opportunity to secretly repay his debt to the mob. Together, they take on the insanity of the New York restaurant world and navigate its underbelly of petty criminals, corrupt officials and violent mobsters.

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Additional series castings include Mad Men alum Michael Gladis as Patrick Woichik, aka The Tooth Fairy, the soft-spoken, brutally intimidating local mobster with a penchant for pulling teeth; Lorenza Izzo (Hemlock Grove), who will play Pilar Herrera, a woman who meets Tommy in a grief group and is desperately searching for true love; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. grad Christine Adams, who will portray Tommy’s late wife Rie Moran; The Wire‘s John Doman, who will play Tommy’s father Aidan Moran, a ruthless businessman and unapologetic racist; and Elijah Jacob (Spot On), who is set as Tommy’s 10-year-old son TJ Moran.

Based on the Danish series Bankerot created by Kim Fupz Aakeson and produced by DR Broadcasting, Feed the Beast hails from Lionsgate TV, where Dexter and Nurse Jackie alum Phillips has an overall deal, and AMC Studios. Phillips will executive produce alongside original Bankerot producers Henrik Ruben Genz and Malene Blenkov as well as Piv Bernth (The Killing). The series marks the latest Danish adaptation at AMC, following its remake of Forbrydelsen, which became The Killing and ran for three seasons on the cabler before closing out at Netflix.

For Schwimmer, the role marks his latest TV foray following American Crime Story and 2014 ABC comedy pilot Irreversible, which did not move forward.

“David and Jim are each incredibly talented actors whose careers span theater, film and television. But more importantly, they both possess an inherent honesty and vulnerability in their craft, which are essential in the flawed characters of Tommy and Dion,” said showrunner Phillips. “Their grasp of the story, and their respective characters’ journeys, is something I’m very eager to dive into with them.”

Schwimmer is repped by Gersh; Sturgess is with CAA. A premiere date has not yet been determined. Production begins Feb. 1.