The story of former FBI Director James Comey and his interactions with President Donald Trump are soon to be adapted into miniseries from CBS. The new miniseries, based on Comey’s memoir “A Higher Loyalty,” will star prominent actors Jeff Daniels as Comey and Brendan Gleeson as Trump, CBS announced earlier this week.
According to a CNN report on this miniseries, series writer and director Billy Ray specifically picked Jeff Daniels for Comey based on Daniels’ past work on shows such as The Newsroom and Godless. “We talked backstage after I saw him in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ on Broadway, and I knew I was looking at the only person who could play Jim Comey,” Ray stated. “Lucky for me, he said yes.”
Ray also noted Gleeson’s past work that made him stand out for the role of Donald Trump, including Gleeson’s “Mad-Eye” Moody character from the Harry Potter franchise. “It’s hard to imagine a bigger acting challenge than playing Donald Trump,” Ray stated. “You have to have presence, and a singular kind of dynamism. You also have to have the courage and the will to play Trump’s psychology from the inside out.”
The miniseries itself, which has no confirmed title yet, will follow the story of the memoir Comey released in April of 2018. The memoir was one of the biggest books of 2018, selling more than 600,000 copies in its first week on sale. Comey served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017, when he was fired by Donald Trump after recommending no charges be filed against Hilary Clinton in regards to her personal email server.
Daniels and Gleeson will be joined by House of Cards actor Michael Kelly in the role of FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and actress Jennifer Ehle in the role of Patrice Comey, James Comey’s wife. A premiere date for the series has not yet been announced.