An untitled limited series based on the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol is in the works at Showtime from the team behind The Comey Rule. There are now reports that the cabler has ordered three scripts for a series detailing the events leading up to the well-publicized attack. The project hails from Story Factory and Wink Pictures Productions.
After previously collaborating on The Comey Rule, Billy Ray will write and direct the Showtime series with Shane Salerno executive producing. The two served the same roles on The Comey Rule, the political miniseries released last year on Showtime following FBI director James Comey (Jeff Daniels) in the months before and after Donald Trump (Brendan Gleeson) winning the presidential election. Premiering to high viewership, the miniseries is Showtime’s highest-rated limited series ever.
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The Capitol riot series will “examine and explore multiple points of view of the events leading up to the January 6 attack, including the final days of the Trump administration, and culminate with the attack itself, the aftermath, and the FBI and Congressional investigations.” Something that’s interesting about Showtime’s decision to move forward with the series so soon is that the investigation is still ongoing, and the FBI continues to make arrests based on the crimes perpetrated by the rioters on that day.
No cast members have yet been attached to the new Showtime series, but Donald Trump is expected to be a character in the series. Per The Hollywood Reporter, it’s possible that Brendan Gleeson will return as Trump following his Golden Globe-nominated performance on The Comey Rule. Given that the new series comes from the same team, that seems to be a probable possibility, if Gleeson is interested in stepping back into the part.
Billy Ray also served as a writer and director on The Last Tycoon, an Amazon series based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald book of the same name. Starring Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer, Lily Collins, and Dominique McElligott, the show is loosely based on the famous producer Irving Thalberg and is set in 1930s Hollywood. As a writer, Ray’s other recent screenwriting credits include Richard Jewell, Terminator: Dark Fate, Gemini Man, and Overlord. He also wrote The Hunger Games and his script for Captain Phillips was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards.
Ray has reportedly been very busy researching the riot in recent months, which includes consulting with many people who were directly involved with the situation. The first script has also already been written as the series moves on the fast track towards production. It makes sense for the series to join The Comey Rule at Showtime, but landing at the cabler wasn’t always a sure thing. Showtime reportedly won out after the new limited series was pitched, beating out other interested parties like HBO and Peacock.
It hasn’t been revealed when the Capitol riot series will start production, and there’s no word yet on when the series may premiere on Showtime. With the show seemingly on the fast track, it shouldn’t be long before more updates are announced. This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.
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