Oscar-winning actorRussell Croweis heading to television for one of the biggest roles of his career. Showtime announced today that Crowe will lead the network’s adaptation ofGabriel Sherman’s bestselling bookThe Loudest Voice in the Room, which chronicles the rise and fall of Fox News founderRoger Ailes. Crowe will indeed be playing Ailes in the eight-episode limited series, which mostly focuses on the last decade of Ailes’ life as he became the de facto leader of the Republican Party. The series will show his initial meeting with Richard Nixon that gave birth to Ailes’ political career, as well as the sexual harassment accusations and settlements that brought his Fox News tenure to an end.
Sherman co-wrote the first episode of the series with Oscar-winningSpotlightfilmmakerTom McCarthy, who will executive produce alongsideJason Blum. Indeed, the limited series is a co-production between Showtime Entertainment and Blumhouse Television, as the horror studio’s TV arm has been expanding recently with content like the upcoming HBO limited seriesSharp Objects.
The limited series will be told through multiple points of view, aiming to shed light on the psychology that drives the political process from the top down. Sherman interviewed more than 600 people for his book, and no doubt with Crowe secured, the cast for this thing will fill out with plenty of A-list talent. A director is not yet attached, and it’s unclear if one director will helm all eight episodes or if Showtime is looking for multiple filmmakers.
This marks the first major TV commitment from Crowe since early in his career when he starred on the 1980s showNeighbours. He’s coming off a terrific turn inShane Black’sThe Nice Guys, and will next be seen on the big screen in the highly anticipated “gay conversion therapy” dramaBoy Erased, which hits theaters later this year. No word on when this Showtime series will debut, but it could arrive sometime in 2019.
