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Bill Hader is looking to develop and possibly star in a Jonestown series for HBO, focusing on the Rev. Jim Jones and the People's Temple.
Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: bill hader, Jonestown
Bill Hader to Co-Write, Possibly Star in Jonestown Series for HBO
Bill Hader is looking to develop and possibly star in a Jonestown series for HBO, focusing on the Rev. Jim Jones and the People's Temple.
Article Summary
- Bill Hader is co-writing and may star in an HBO series about Jim Jones and the Jonestown tragedy.
- Daniel Zelman will join Hader as co-writer, co-showrunner, and executive producer on the project.
- The series explores Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and the infamous 1978 mass murder-suicide in Guyana.
- Hader builds on his HBO success after Barry, with several other projects already in the pipeline.
Bill Hader is taking a huge leap of faith, tapping into one of the most polarizing and controversial figures in the 1970s, Jim Jones, the infamous cult leader of People's Temple behind the mass murder in Guyana, developing a Jonestown biographical series with Daniel Zelman for HBO. The two are writing the series, and the Barry star is being eyed to potentially star and direct, according to Variety. Hader and Zelman will also serve as co-showrunners and executive producers.
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Hader and Zelman Look to Tell Story of Jim Jones, Jonestown Tragedy
Born in 1931, Jones developed a passion for Pentecostalism as a child and took his ambitions for a life of ministry, becoming ordained in 1964 by the Protestant Disciples of Christ. He founded the Peoples Temple in 1955 in Indianapolis, influenced by Father Divine and the Peace Mission movement. He championed civil rights activism and had a fully integrated congregation. Jones moved the Peoples Temple to California in 1965, becoming more politically active. Mounting accusations of abuse from former members began to surface as Jones decided to take the Temple to Guyana.
As concerned family members attempted to communicate with their loved ones, Congressman Leo Ryan arrived in Jonestown to investigate. Sadly, despite the initial goodwill offered, Ryan's visit became the downfall as Jones had him and any public Temple defectors murdered on their departing plane before taking off. With Jones' days numbered, he decided to execute the entire congregation in a "revolutionary suicide" either from gunfire or, as the bulk did, from poisoned Flavor Aid they were forced to ingest at gunpoint, over 900 were found in the mass murder suicide in 1978 with Jones taking his own life in the process.
The SNL alum is coming off his successful four-season run on Barry for HBO and lent his voice to the live-action hybrid film IF in 2024. It's also been announced that Hader will star opposite Issa Rae in Jesse Andrews' Empress of Serenity and voice the title character in Warner Bros Animation's The Cat in the Hat opposite Matt Berry and Quinta Brunson.
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