Bob Odenkirk is set to play a leading role in a television adaptation of Richard Russo’s Straight Man, Variety reports.
The Mr. Show and Better Call Saul actor will star in the show for the network AMC. The series will be written and executive produced by Aaron Zelman (Damages) and Paul Lieberstein (The Office), and directed by Peter Farrelly (Green Book), who will also executive produce alongside Russo and Odenkirk.
Russo’s 1997 novel follows the chair of an English department of a Pennsylvania college who’s having a particularly bad week. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “gloriously funny and involving.”
Russo is no stranger to Hollywood. His screenwriting credits include the 1998 thriller Twilight and the 2005 comedy The Ice Harvest, and his novels Nobody’s Fool and Empire Falls were adapted for film and television, respectively.
“I loved Paul and Aaron’s take on Richard’s excellent, entertaining novel,” Odenkirk told Variety. “Once again, a project with AMC with a focus on character depth and sensitivity. This milieu (academia) seems very pertinent to the conversations we’re all having.?I am drawn to the tone of humanity and humor in the novel and I look forward to playing this role—something lighter than my recent projects but still closely observed and smart.”
Odenkirk’s own book, the memoir Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama, was published by Random House in March.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
