HBO may not always hit everything that it aims for, but I look forward to hearing about their new projects with more fervor than that of any other channel, with FX and AMC chomping at its heels. But they’re right back in the mix with one of the more dramatically intriguing prospects that have been announced recently. Deadline reports Deadwood creator David Milch has written an HBO pilot called The Money, and it has attracted the esteemed talents of Nathan Lane and Brendan Gleeson to star. While it’d be nice to see these two in some kind of a buddy comedy, David Milch projects tend to run a little darker than that, and this one has much potential to take the drama to low places.
With the subject of wealth and corruption of the affluent at its core, the series would follow father and husband James Castman (Gleeson), an American millionaire who utilizes his power and the respect of others to control his vast media empire and his family. Sounds like a real winner, that one. Lane would star as Gordon McCarren, a New York Herald reporter whose job security is at its thinnest, as he hasn’t gotten a story out in weeks, and he’ll do anything to take responsibility for landing a hot story. Here’s hoping McCarren isn’t a total schlub, though Lane could probably give that stereotype some pathos.
As an added bonus, The Money pilot will be directed by the U.K.’s Justin Chadwick, who has recently been gaining buzz for having helmed the always awesome Idris Elba in the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. With a career spent mostly in British TV, Chadwick was nominated for an Emmy in 2005 for his work on the miniseries Bleak House, and his previous most well-known feature was 2008’s historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl.
Milch, meanwhile, got his start on the classic police drama Hill Street Blues before going on to create NYPD Blue, Deadwood, John From Cincinnati and Luck. Nobody is saying that his HBO series last very long, but they’re quality products.
Lane was recently nominated at the Emmys for his guest-starring work on Modern Family, but he did win the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance for his work on The Nance, a role he received a Tony nomination for. You can see him on the big screen whenever Craig Zisk’s comedic drama The English Teacher hits theaters.
I think it’s amazing that Gleeson has never been a TV regular here in the U.S. But his work in film is constant, thankfully. He’s starring in Don McKellar’s comedy drama The Grand Seduction, Henry Selick’s next stop-motion animation The Shadow King, Brad Anderson’s mental institution thriller Eliza Graves and he’s currently filming Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea.
You know with this squad involved, the supporting cast is going to be awesome, if any of this even happens. We’ll let you know. We’ll show you The Money, as it were.
