Brow Beat

David O. Russell Has a TV Series in the Works, With Julianne Moore and Robert De Niro Set to Star

De Niro and Moore in Being Flynn.

Focus Features

In what’s sure to spark a major bidding war, David O. Russell has enlisted Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore to topline a new untitled television project, according to Deadline. The series will be a crime thriller set in the 1990s and will be produced by Russell’s frequent creative partner Megan Ellison, of Annapurna. Several details are still pending, but the project is reportedly being shopped to cable and streaming outlets and is already fielding competitive offers.

This would mark Russell’s debut foray into series television, following in the footsteps of such acclaimed filmmakers as Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese, and Ava DuVernay. The American Hustle director was attached to co-write and executive produce the ABC soap opera The Club in 2014 but abruptly dropped out before the project was scrapped by the network altogether. With Ellison and frequent collaborator De Niro now alongside him, it’s reasonable to assume that Russell should be more comfortable this time around. But considering the reported struggles of several filmmakers who have recently turned to TV—including David Fincher, Baz Luhrmann, and Steve McQueen—it remains unclear whether Russell will be able to successfully make the turn.

Moore and De Niro have both starred in HBO movies—the former won an Emmy for playing Sarah Palin in Game Change, and the latter will be appearing as Bernie Madoff in the network’s upcoming Wizard of Lies—but a TV series remains uncharted territory for the two actors. (Though De Niro was briefly set to star in The Night Of.) Their teaming with Russell is the latest in a trend of major film talent joining television projects without any network attachment, represented most recently by Amy Adams and Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (now at HBO) and Daniel Craig and Todd Field’s Purity (now at Showtime).