HBO has found the main cast for the Sam Mendes-directed comedy pilot The Franchise.
The pilot, which will mark Mendes’ first time directing for U.S. television, is set against the backdrop of the production of a superhero movie. Billy Magnussen (Game Night, Made for Love), Jessica Hynes (Spaced), Darren Goldstein (Ozark), Lolly Adefope (Shrill) and Isaac Powell (American Horror Story) star, and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) and Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) will have recurring roles should The Franchise go to series.
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The Franchise, per the show’s description will follow “a hopeful crew trapped inside the dysfunctional, nonsensical, joyous hellscape of franchise superhero movie-making. If and when they finally make the day, the question they must face — is this Hollywood’s new dawn or cinema’s last stand? Is this a dream factory or a chemical plant?”
Mendes originated the idea for the show and will direct. Jon Brown (HBO’s Veep and Avenue 5) wrote the pilot and will serve as showrunner. Mendes, via his Neal Street Productions, and Brown will executive produce with Veep creator Armando Iannucci; Neal Street’s Pippa Harris, Nicolas Brown and Julie Pastor; and Keith Akushie, Marina Hyde and Jim Kleverweis.
Magnussen is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content and Sloane Offer; Hynes by Independent Talent Group and Seven Summits Pictures & Management; Goldstein by Cornerstone Talent Agency and Suskin/Karshan Management; Adefope by Dawn Sedgwick Management; Powell by CAA, Impression Entertainment and Schreck Rose; Brühl by UTA, Tavistock Wood, and Players; and Grant by Curtis Brown in the U.K. and WME in the U.S.
