Giancarlo Esposito remains on AMC for his next role in the series.
The ‘Better Call Saul’ veteran will star and executive produce the drama ‘Driver’ for AMC and its streaming service AMC+. This will be Esposito’s third series on cable after Saul, which begins its final season in April, and Breaking Bad.
“I am very excited, excited and inspired to be collaborating with the stellar network and AMC creative team,” Esposito said in a statement. “Thank you for believing in me. It’s great to be back home!”
Created by Sunu Goner and Danny Brocklehurst (and based on the 2014 BBC miniseries by Brocklehurst and Jim Poyser), The Driver follows a taxi driver (Esposito) whose life is turned upside down when he accepts being chauffeured by a Zimbabwean gangster from New Orleans notorious for its crimes. exploitation of undocumented immigrants in ports in the southern United States. The six-episode first season, produced by AMC Studios in association with A+E Studios and Thruline Entertainment, is due out in 2023.
Esposito was a fan of the BBC series starring David Morrissey as the title character and Gonera joined their joint management firm Thruline Entertainment.
“It’s surreal to be in a moment like this,” Gonera said. “This whole journey started four years ago with a simple conversation in the living room of my manager Josh Kesselman, when he said, “Giancarlo wants to play everyman as his next role. He loves a British show called The Driver. Could you watch the pilot and see if you can come up with a take that you both like?” Um, would I? I visited Giancarlo and everyone.
Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, said, “Giancarlo is an exceptional talent who has already become a favorite with AMC audiences thanks to his outstanding performances in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.” We’re excited to continue his relationship with AMC and AMC+ in a series built around him and an unforgettable character who takes what he sees as a simple job opportunity and faces a world that tests him in ways he never could have imagined. ”
Theo Travers (Billions, Power) will be the showrunner for The Driver. Gonera (Snowfall, Raised by Wolves) will direct the first episode.
“It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with AMC on this bold reimagining of my British miniseries,” said Brocklehurst. “Sunu Gonera and Theo Travers have both brought excellent original voices to the space and I’m thrilled to be taking this trip with them.”
Travers added: “I am thrilled to help bring this show to life. I’ve been a Giancarlo fan since Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. It is a real honor to be able to collaborate with him in this way. The Driver is an intense dark quest for identity for every person trying to find a new purpose in their life.”
Esposito, Gonera, Brocklehurst and Travers will executive produce the series along with Thruline’s Kesselman and Danny Sherman, as well as A+E Studios head Barry Jossen and executive vice president of creative affairs Tana Jamison.
The Driver is the latest project for the ever-busy Esposito, who, in addition to Better Call Saul, reappears in Amazon’s The Boys and Disney+’s The Mandalorian. He also stars in the upcoming Netflix series Saw and stars alongside Forest Whitaker in The Godfather of Harlem on Epix. It is represented by ICM Partners, Thruline Entertainment, Jackoway Austen and Imprint.
Travers is represented by Echo Lake Management and attorney JR McGinnis at Felker Toczek.
Recently, AMC and AMC+ have been strengthening their future rosters. In addition to The Driver, the network and streamer recently produced three other series: Isle of the Dead, the fifth spin-off of The Walking Dead starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the dramas Demascus and Invitation to the Campfire. .