Bill Hader is co-writing a Jonestown-centered drama series in growth at HBO, with plans to additionally direct and probably tackle the lead function of cult leader Jim Jones. There’s no official greenlight or manufacturing timeline but, but when the challenge strikes forward, HBO may very well be trying at one in every of its most intense true crime variations but.
The challenge, which the Barry star is developing alongside Damages co-creator Daniel Zelman, will chronicle the rise and tragic fall of the Peoples Temple and the notorious 1978 mass murder-suicide that claimed over 900 lives in Jonestown, Guyana. Hader and Zelman are co-writing, govt producing, and can act as co-showrunners.
Should the series transfer ahead, it will mark a significant tonal shift for Hader, identified for balancing comedy and psychological rigidity in Barry, which earned him two Emmys for lead actor. This new challenge leans totally into historic drama, specializing in the manipulation, paranoia, and eventual disaster that surrounded Jones and his followers.
The announcement comes amid renewed popular culture curiosity within the Jonestown story, just lately referenced in an episode of Apple TV’s The Studio.
The Jonestown tragedy has been revisited quite a few occasions in movie and tv, most notably within the 1980 CBS miniseries Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and thru varied documentaries and books. HBO beforehand tried to launch a Jonestown series from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan in 2016, however it by no means superior.
Published – April 24, 2025 11:27 am IST
