Franco is set to star in Hulu miniseries drama about the Kennedy Assassination.
Oscar nominee James Franco is set to return to the small screen in a drama miniseries based on the best-seller “11/22/63” by Stephen King. The miniseries from J.J. Abrams and King also titled 11/22/63 is described by The Hollywood Reporter as a thriller in which high school English teacher Jake Epping travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald, his falling in love and the past itself … which doesn’t want to be changed.
The drama from Warner Bros. Television will mark the first collaboration between Abrams and Hulu. Hulu will be the home for the nine hour miniseries in the U.S. with Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution distributing the series globally. The script will be written by Bridget Carpenter (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, The Red Road). She will also executive produce the drama alongside King and Bad Robot’s Bryan Burk. Bad Robot’s Kathy Lingg will co-exec produce and Athena Wickham will produce.
The role marks the first regular Television spot for Franco after his role in Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks. He is also the latest actor to make the jump from the big screen to the small screen, and the streaming screen. Mr. Franco joins the likes of Billy Bob Thornton (FX anthology Fargo), Halle Berry (CBS summer drama Extant), Kevin Bacon (Fox’s The Following), Viola Davis (ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder), Kirsten Dunst (Fargo), Matthew McConaughey (HBO’s True Detective), Woody Harrelson (True Detective), Jane Fonda (Netflix’s Grace and Frankie), Colin Farrell (True Detective), Vince Vaughn (True Detective) and more. The increase in popularity of paid streaming services has added a competitive edge to the scripted landscape of television that it seems the big stars can’t deny.
A premiere date for 11/22/63 has not yet been determined.