On Becoming A God In Central Florida, the one hour dark comedy previously distributed by not one but two companies, is finally set to premiere on Showtime later this summer. The story itself was never in question, it was just where audiences would be able to watch it, which is easy enough to trace. But with a cast led by Kirsten Dunst and a production backed by George Clooney, it was certain that the show would find a home.
Deadline reports that the story was initially in production at AMC, passion project of the late Suzanne Patmore Gibbs. Gibbs was head of TriStar TV at the time and was said to be heavily involved with the project at the time of her death. In recent years Gibbs had revived the Sony Pictures TV’s label as a place that was friendly to female-centric material. It seems following her death, Sony earmarked the show for release on YouTube Premium. But failing the ability to get the proper streaming rights, it fell back to the greater Sony TV net. According to Variety, YouTube has also experienced some trouble recently with original content, with some hits like Cobra Kai being renewed for a third season and others like Sideswiped and Overthinking With Kat & June being cancelled.
The series finally found a home at Showtime. Gary Levine, co-president of entertainment for Showtime Networks says, “We were immediately drawn to this stylish and subversive female empowerment story starring Kirsten Dunst as you’ve never seen her before.” He continued, saying, “Throw in clever writing, inventive filmmaking, a strong, diverse ensemble and some alligators and we’re confident Showtime audiences will find On Becoming A God [In Central Florida] irresistible.”
The Wrap give the logline that Showtime put out as:
“Set in a small Orlando-adjacent town in 1992, On Becoming A God In Central Florida follows Krystal Stubbs (Dunst), a minimum-wage water park employee who lies, schemes and cons her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise (FAM) — the cultish, flag-waving, multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme that drove her to ruin in the first place, run by the powerful Obie Garbeau II (Ted Levine). Determined to make a better life for herself, Krystal dives deep into FAM and develops a tangled relationship with FAM’s most loyal and fanatical follower Cody (Théodore Pellerin), until her business begins to affect those closest to her, including Ernie (Mel Rodriguez), her affable water park boss, and his FAM-skeptic wife Bets (Beth Ditto).”
The cast will be rounded out by Usman Ally, Julie Benz, Melissa De Sousa, Josh Fadem, John Earl Jelks, Sharon Lawrence, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Alexander Skarsgård, and Mary Steenburgen.
On Becoming A God In Central Florida will premiere on the Showtime network on August 25, 2019 at 10pm.