Apparently the writers over at CBS have a dearth of creativity.
The network announced on Monday that Jeff Daniels will play former FBI James Comey in a four hour miniseries based on the disgraced public servant's book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership. Filming will occur in November 2019, with an airdate sometime in 2020. According to DeadLine.com, Billy Ray, will serve as the director and Alex Kurtzman, Shane Salerno, and Heather Kadin are the executive producers. Here's some more details via Deadline:
"Jeff is so perfect for this part. Great actor, instant integrity, loads of warmth, intelligence, complexity and gravitas,” Ray said. “We talked backstage after I saw him in To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway, and I knew I was looking at the only person who could play Jim Comey. Lucky for me, he said yes.”
Daniels has been playing Atticus Finch in the stage adaptation of Harper Lee's American classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, on Broadway.
Apparently, Ray "spent a year meeting Comey and his family, journalists, FBI agents and government officials from both sides of the aisle to researching and give a fair hearing to the mini. Comey’s a project which, while an early tumultuous event in the Trump White House, seems entirely relevant in the firings and scandals that have engulfed the administration."
The announcement has been met with disproval from both conservative and liberal audiences on Twitter.
2020 presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke's digital director Rob Flaherty commented, "If I wanted to watch Jeff Daniels deliver a series of self-indulgent monologues about democracy I'd just watch the Newsroom."
If I wanted to watch Jeff
— Rob Flaherty (@Rob_Flaherty) October 7, 2019
Daniels deliver a series of self-indulgent monologues about democracy I'd just watch the Newsroom https://t.co/d3wmLKFjog