Coming to FX later this month is Howard Gordon and Craig Wright's drama Tyrant. FX released this first look video, which offers us some glimpses at the incredibly beautiful setting of this promising new drama, along with some insights into the story and what viewers should expect.
Tyrant stars Adam Rayner as Bassam "Barry" Al Fayeed, a man who's from a (fictional) war-torn country and who's returning there with his family to reunite with his father, the dictator of the country. This is the end of an exile for Barry, as he comes home for a family member's wedding. The video above teases the series as a thriller both in terms of the action featured and the political intrigue. Tyrant also aims to reveal the gray space between black and white, "particularly in these troubled areas in the world." Here's one of the recent teasers for Tyrant:
It certainly looks like an ambitious series, particularly as it relates to its setting and subject matter, as it focuses on a man who may be forced to explore his own identity after returning home following the life and family he's built for himself in America. How well does he fit in in his home country? How will his American family fit in? Is there another side to Barry that they're about to see now? And how do the politics and war factor into this equation. Probably a lot, when we consider Barry's father is a dictator.
As we said, it's ambitious content, and the project was a long and bumpy road from development to series. The Hollywood Reporter recently ran an interesting feature focusing on the "turmoil on Tyrant," which showcases the numerous challenges the project faced, including Howard Gordon's efforts to get Ang Lee on board to direct, and the eventual setback that occurred when Ang Lee dropped out of the project. David Yates was later brought on board to helm the pilot. The series also experienced a major shift in the location of production, from Morocco to Israel. To say that the series is the product of a lot of determination, time and effort sounds like it would be a major understatement. But will it pay off? That remains to be seen.
Tyrant debuts on FX on June 24. In addition to Adam Rayner, the cast also includes Jennifer Finnigan, Anne Winters, Ashraf Barhom and Justin Kirk.
