Political power play: ‘The Comey Rule’ premieres on Showtime

As Nov. 3 looms on the horizon, the U.S. presidential election campaign is in full swing. No matter which way you intend to vote, chances are that you have been inundated with news stories and all manner of political theories about the candidates and their parties. With only weeks to go before the big day, a new miniseries explores events surrounding the previous presidential election from the perspective of a key player.

Emmy winner Jeff Daniels (“The Newsroom”) returns to television as FBI Director James Comey in the four-hour miniseries “The Comey Rule,” premiering Sunday, Sept. 27, and concluding Monday, Sept. 28, on Showtime.

Based on Comey’s bestselling book “A Higher Loyalty,” the production details recent historical events from Comey’s perspective, including the FBI’S Russia investigation and Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email controversy. The miniseries depicts the relationship between Comey and President Donald Trump (Brendan Gleeson,“mr. Mercedes”) and Comey’s eventual dismissal from his post as the head of the FBI. Holly Hunter (“Saving Grace”) also stars.

“The Comey Rule” was written and directed by Oscar-nominee Billy Ray (“Captain Phillips,” 2013) and was filmed in Toronto, Canada, beginning in November 2019. Initially, it was scheduled to air after the 2020 presidential election, but Ray publicly decried the move to delay the broadcast and even went so far as to write a letter to the cast to apologize for the move. After Showtime’s parent company, Cbsviacom, changed its tune and rescheduled the miniseries for a September premiere, Ray explained why he felt it was important to air the show in the run-up to the election in an interview with Vanity Fair.

“Of course, I wanted this series to air before the 2020 elections,”

Ray said in a July article. “I think our democracy is on the line right now. And I wanted this series to be part of the conversation.”

Considering the highly charged subject matter and its depiction of the sitting president, it’s no doubt that the show will draw a lot of attention. No matter which side of the table you sit on, Comey is a controversial figure, to say the least.