Ben Stiller to lead new HBO music industry drama ‘The Band’

nme.com:

Ben Stiller has been confirmed to lead HBO‘s new drama series The Band – find out more below.Per a Variety report, Stiller – who has largely been focusing on directing and producing behind-the-scenes in recent times – is set to return to the screen for HBO’s latest music industry drama, The Band.Stiller will reportedly star as Oscar, a disgraced music industry titan and pop mogul as he hopes to distract the world from his scandals by forming a new boyband.

Stiller will executive produce.A release date has yet to be announced for The Band, nor has the rest of its cast. It is being helmed by show-runners Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers, co-creators of the acclaimed comedy Search Party and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.The Band marks just the second lead role in a TV series for Stiller, who last led his 1990 sketch comedy The Ben Stiller Show.

He has since starred in recurring roles in the likes of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development.Stiller – who has taken a backseat in his acting career to focus on directing and producing – most recently starred in the 2024 comedy film Nutcrackers, and is set to reprise his role as Hal in Adam Sandler‘s Happy Gilmore 2.As a director and producer, Stiller is best known for helming the acclaimed Apple TV+ series Severance.

Its second season, which arrived last month, has scored a glowing five-star review from NME, with James Mottram writing: “As things get all the more intriguing by the minute, Severance is a show best watched on high alert… Don’t stress it, though.