HBO has ordered a comedy series about the world of superhero movie-making with Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci as executive producers.
The Franchise will star Himesh Patel and Aya Cash as regulars, with recurring guest stars including Richard E Grant and Daniel Bruhl.
The series will follow the crew of an unloved franchise movie as they fight for their place in a savage cinematic universe.
Patel, a Screen Star of Tomorrow from 2019, was previously in the HBO Max drama series Station Eleven – for which he was nominated for the lead actor in a limited series Emmy - and has appeared in features including Don’t Look Up, Tenet and Yesterday.
Cash is known for The Boys, the superhero action dramedy series for Amazon’s Prime Video.
The pilot for the series was directed by Sam Mendes and written by British Emmy- and BAFTA-winning writer Jon Brown, who serves as showrunner.
Executive producing The Franchise along with Mendes and Iannucci will be Pippa Harris, Nicolas Brown and Julie Pastor for Mendes’ UK-based Neal Street Productions, Jon Brown and Jim Kleverweis.
Amy Gravitt, executive vice president, HBO Programming, and head of HBO and Max comedy series commented: “With a deft touch only he can bring, Sam has brilliantly captured the romance and the reality of filmmaking today. Jon is superb at sending up worlds we think we already know. Together, with Armando, they have delivered a truly hilarious comedy ensemble. I can’t wait to see more.”
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