Paul Giamatti to Star in ‘Hostel’ TV Show

Paul Giamatti is eyeing a return to television. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Holdovers star is set to star in a new Hostel TV series, with franchise vets Eli Roth, Chriss Briggs, and Mike Fleiss returning. From Fifth Season, the new series, which is a “reinvention” of the fan-favorite horror franchise, is being described as a “modern adaptation” and an “elevated thriller.”

As of now, Hostel is in development and does not have a platform attached. Roth and Briggs will write the script, with Roth also directing. The duo and Fleiss will executive produce the upcoming series. Giamatti’s role is unknown, but he will be starring in a key role. It’s likely more details will drop when and if the show moves forward.

The original film released in 2005 and starred Magnum P.I., Derek Richardson, Eyþór Guðjónsson, and Barbara Nedeljáková. It follows a group of American tourists who end up in Slovakia, where they are taken one-by-one by an organization that allows people to torture and kill others. It spawned two sequels in 2007 and 2011, the latter of which was direct-to-DVD.

If Hostel were to move forward, it would mark Paul Giamatti’s first major TV role since starring in all seven seasons of the Showtime drama Billions, which came to an end last October. He can also be seen in 30 Rock, John Adams, Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blue, and The Show. Voice roles include King of the Hill, BoJack Horseman, Rick and Morty, and Teenage Euthanasia. Last December, he appeared in the second season of the HBO Europe mystery horror series 30 Coins, or 30 monedas.

Giamatti can most recently be seen in the award-winning film The Holdovers. It released last fall and also starred Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston, Brady Hepner, Ian Dolley, and Tate Donavan, among others. Set in the early ’70s, the film follows Giamatti as a strict classics teacher at a New England boarding school who is forced to chaperone a group of students who have nowhere to go for Christmas break. The Holdovers was a Best Picture contender at the 2024 Academy Awards but lost to Oppenheimer.

No other information on Hostel has been released, as well as who could possibly be joining. Since it is a “reinvention” of the franchise, fans may not be able to look forward to stars such as Jay Hernandez joining the mix, but it isn’t completely out of the question. It will be interesting to see how the show does compared to the movies if it’s picked up.