If you've been keeping tabs on Fox News over the last few months, the dominating topic of conversation about the network has not been its ratings, for once. Instead, people have been interested in the story of Roger Ailes, the network's former Chairman and CEO. The very powerful figure spent years making decisions for the right-skewing news network, but it was only recently that he was reportedly asked to resign or be fired thanks to allegations that he sexually harassed a slew of women who worked for the network. Now, he may be heading back to television as the topic of a brand new miniseries.
News this week indicates that Roger Ailes may be the subject of a new TV miniseries being put together by Blumhouse Television. I say maybe, because no network has currently picked the project up yet. Still in the early stages of development, the series will be based on reporting from Gabriel Sherman, who broke a lot of stories related to Ailes' ultimate exit at Fox News. The NY Times also reports that the miniseries will specifically events chronicled in Sherman's book, The Loudest Voice In The Room.
The Loudest Voice in the Room seems like a kind-of long title for a miniseries, and we'll have to wait and see whether the new project goes in a different direction with its title. Right now, we know that Tom McCarthy and Jason Blum are executive producing the project, and Gabriel Sherman and Jennifer Stahl are also involved.
The Roger Ailes story went from one about a powerful newsman to one about a potential sexual predator only this summer. A few months ago, Fox News reporter Gretchen Carlson was removed from her position on Fox & Friends. Her compensation was later reduced and she was eventually fired, which is really when the Roger Ailes story began. Carlson then dropped a lawsuit in Fox's lap that stated Ailes had made sexual advances to her on several occasions. While Fox News at first came out swinging against Carlson, other high profile Fox News personalities, including Andrea Tantaros and Megyn Kelly, also stated Roger Ailes made unwanted advances toward them.
Roger Ailes subsequently resigned from his roles with the network, and he was reportedly given an exit deal worth millions. Fox eventually settled with Gretchen Carlson and reports indicate she may have made as much as $20 million from the lawsuit.
Lifetime and other networks have done well with taking behind-the-scenes stories and turning them into TV projects for years. It wouldn't shock me if this one found a similar home, but we'll have to wait and see if this is the sort of project that is able to get off the ground or if it's the sort of project that gets buried before it even finds a network.
To find out what is definitely headed to TV, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
