FX plans: Offerman drama and Chris Rock joining cast of ‘Fargo’
10-episode reboot of ‘Shogun’ also planned
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – FX is diversifying its offerings, picking up a drama about a cutting-edge tech company starring Nick Offerman, sinking resources into a limited series based in feudal Japan and returning for a fourth series of “Fargo,” this time with Chris Rock.
The network revealed some of its upcoming plans Friday, and they include the eight-episode “Devs” by writer and director Alex Garland, who wrote and directed the 2014 feature film “Ex Machina” starring Alicia Vikander. The upcoming TV series is set at a secretive tech firm in San Francisco that may be responsible for a murder.
“Devs” will star “Parks and Recreation” veteran Offerman as the firm’s CEO, as well as Sonoya Mizuno, Jin Ha, Zach Grenier, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny and Alison Pill. It will premiere on FX in 2019.
FX is also rebooting “Shogun” as a 10episode limited series, which it calls its “largest international scale production to date.” The series will be based on the novel of the same name by James Clavell that was turned into a 1980 miniseries event by NBC starring Richard Chamberlain.
The plot charts the collision in Japan of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai. The new version will be written by Eugene Kelly (“Westworld,” “Leftovers” and “Boardwalk Empire”) and Ronan Bennett (“Public Enemies,” “Top Boy”).
FX has lured Rock to star in a new season of “Fargo,” set in 1950, which will begin production in 2019. Rock will play the head of a criminal syndicate who has struck an uneasy peace with a rival group – they’ve swapped sons. A death forces the unraveling of their plans. Longtime “Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley will again lead the creative team.