Netflix Lands New Drama Starring Jeff Daniels

By Daniel S. Levine

Jeff Daniels is returning to Netflix for A Man in Full, a limited series based on Tom Wolfe's novel. The series will be written by Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley and includes Oscar-winner Regina King as an executive producer. Daniels won an Emmy in 2018 for his performance in Netflix's limited series Western Godless.

Daniels will star as Charlie Croker, an Atlanta real estate mogul who is suddenly facing bankruptcy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Politics and business intrigue collide when Charlie tries to save his empire from the people trying to capitalize on his failures. Charlie is described as "crude, rude, and irresponsible," which could make his efforts difficult. Wolfe's novel was published in 1998 as the follow-up to his first novel, the bestselling The Bonfire of the Vanities.

Kelley will serve as showrunner and executive producer. King, who starred in front of the camera for Netflix in The Harder They Fall and Seven Seconds, will direct six episodes. She is an executive producer on the project through her Royal Ties Productions, Kelley's longtime producing partner Matthew Tinker is also an executive producer.

This is the latest Netflix project for Kelley, who also worked on the limited series Anatomy of a Scandal. His next Netflix show, The Lincoln Lawyer, debuts on May 13. Kelley is one of the most prolific television writers and producers in Hollywood, with a career that stretches back to the 1980s. He has 11 Emmys and created Doogie Howser, M.D., Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public, Boston Legal, and The Crazy Ones. He also adapted Liane Moriarty's novel Big Little Lies for HBO and created ABC's Big Sky.

Daniels gave a chilling performance in Scott Frank's Godless, winning the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He won his first Emmy in 2013 for HBO's The Newsroom. The veteran actor's other recent television credits include The Comey Rule, American Rust, and The Looming Tower. His recent movies include Adam, Guest Artist, Allegiant, The Catcher Was a Spy, The Martian, Steve Jobs, and Dumb and Dumber To.

King won an Oscar for her supporting role in If Beale Street Could Talk. She has directed episodes of The Good Doctor, Shameless, This Is Us, and Scandal. In 2020, she made her feature debut as a director with the critically acclaimed Amazon Prime Video movie One Night in Miami... King's next movie as a director is Bitter Root, a Lionsgate project based on the comic book series created by David F. Walker, Sanford Greene, and Chuck Brown. The story is set in 1920s Harlem, where a family of monster hunters works together to stop a new threat.  

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