Netflix lands Ryan Murphy’s new series, The Politician, starring Ben Platt
“Believed to be the biggest TV package sale of the year” according to Deadline, Netflix won a week-long streaming bidding war in order to land creator and producer Ryan Murphy’s new hourlong comedy series, The Politician. The series will star Tony Award winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hanson) and is reportedly in negotiations to bring Academy Award winners Barbra Streisand (The Guilt Trip) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Avengers: Infinity War) on board as costars. Part of those negotiations includes making the pair, as well as Platt, producers on the show.
Besides being described as a comedy that features social commentary, not much is known about the new project that was created by Murphy and his longtime collaborators Brad Falchuck and Ian Brennan. However, Deadline reports that the show will center on Platt’s character, Payton, “a wealthy Santa Barbarian” with political aspirations. Each season of The Politician, which has already been given a “two-season straight-to-series order,” will focus on different political races that Payton is involved in.
Platt will reportedly have musical numbers in many of the episodes in the Fox 21 TV Studios new project, and Murphy is set to direct the pilot episode. If her deal closes, Streisand will possibly be directing some of the episodes as well. Ian Brennan (Glee co-creator) was brought onto the project by Murphy and Falchuck, and the three will likely share co-creator credits for the series. Murphy’s most recent collaboration with Falchuck is Fox’s new hit drama series, 911, and is the fourth series the pair will have co-created.
The Politician is Murphy’s second original series arriving on Netflix, alongside his upcoming project, Ratched, a prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest starring Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) as a younger version of the cruel Nurse Ratched. Since the prolific creator-producer’s deal with 20th Century Fox TV is set to expire later this year, many are wondering where Murphy could end up. With two series from the creator landing on Netflix, it’s safe to assume the streaming site could become a more permanent home once Murphy’s deal with Fox comes to an end.
