FX chairman John Landgraf started his time before the press at the virtual Television Critics Association’s summer press tour by announcing the expansion of Ryan Murphy’s American Story franchise with two new shows and a renewal. The orders for American Sports Story and American Love Story — as well as the pickup of American Crime Stories — has added fuel to ongoing speculation about where the prolific producer will call home once his current $300 million deal with Netflix expires.
“Would I like it to happen? The answer is yes,” Landgraf said when asked if a reunion between Disney — Murphy’s longtime home before Netflix — and the mega-producer could happen. “Could it happen? I don’t have the answer to that question because it lies within the free market and within Ryan Murphy’s purview. He gets to decide where he makes his deal and what he does. From where I sit, he’s been extraordinarily productive for Netflix and obviously we’ve continued to work with him; I’m thrilled with the work he’s done with us. But it’s premature to speculate what will happen that far out. But if you’re asking me would I like Ryan to make his home at Disney, 20th and with Dana [Walden] and therefore FX, yes. I love working with him.”
Related Stories
Murphy departed his longtime home at the Fox-turned-Disney owned 20th Television in 2018 for a five-year, $300 million overall deal with Netflix. Under the deal, Glee creator has delivered the streaming giant projects including The Prom, Pray Away, The Boys in the Band, The Politician, Hollywood, Halston and the upcoming Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Ratched, his first show for Netflix, is produced by 20th TV. None have been the kind of broad, breakout hits that Murphy had become known for delivering during his tenure at Disney, where he has a carveout to continue work on pre-existing franchises. Those include American Horror Story (now in its 10th season, and renewed through its 13th); American Crime Story (buzzy Impeachment is due in September) with a fourth cycle, Studio 54, already in the works. Landgraf noted that FX and Murphy are working on “other Crime Story subjects that aren’t ready to be announced.” (Murphy also oversees Fox’s 911 and its spinoff, Lone Star, via Disney’s 20th TV.)
It’s also worth noting that Netflix, which has high hopes that Monster will be a big hit, has SVOD rights to both American Horror Story and American Crime Story. Both shows perform well on the platform.
Here are other notable highlights from Landgraf’s hour before the press corps:
• Atlanta will likely return in the first half of 2022. Landgraf said scheduling for season three — which has wrapped filming — will be announced in a few months. Season three — which was filmed in Europe — remains in postproduction, which will be a lengthy process because filming on season four is also under way in Atlanta. Creator and star Donald Glover has already completed all the scripts for season four, which could air shortly after the third season. The Emmy-winning comedy last aired in May 2018 and Glover in February inked an overall deal with Amazon, making the future of the series at FX unclear. He’s already prepping to write and star in a Mr. and Mrs. Smith reboot alongside Fleabag favorite Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
• Landgraf expects Fargo creator Noah Hawley’s take on Alien to arrive in 2023. The series, which counts feature director Ridley Scott among its exec producers, “will feel like part of the cinematic universe,” Landgraf said, noting it will be “uniquely Noah.” Landgraf called the series a “world-building exercise” with “huge” sets. “We want to get it right,” the exec said, noting that it’s likely the only Disney or Fox IP that his network will reboot.
• Cat’s Cradle update: Hawley’s adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel will not be moving forward. The series, first announced back in 2015, is produced in-house at FX Productions and, Landgraf said, if another outlet wants to make the series, they’ll happily “still produce it.” Hawley remains under an overall deal with FXP.
• FX is ramping up production. Landgraf said that he hopes to have a slate that features 30 shows a year, including scripted and documentary fare, all of which is faithful to the network’s well-curated “fearless” brand filter. He noted that FX is the only linear brand that’s ramping up scripted at a time when the industry as a whole is focused on streaming. It’s worth noting that while FX is ramping up originals, most if not all new series will launch on FX on Hulu, the cabler’s hub on the Disney-owned streamer that he said tends to skew 15-17 years younger than his linear network.
