Richard Russo: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: Former The Killing star Mireille Enos is returning to AMC, taking a rare comedic turn as the female lead opposite Bob Odenkirk in Straight Man, the network’s series adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel from former The Killing writer-producer Aaron Zelman and The Office alum Paul Lieberstein.

BreAnna Bell AMC has canceled “Lucky Hank” after one season, Variety has confirmed. Based on Richard Russo’s “Straight Man” novel, the eight-episode dramedy follows William Henry “Hank” Devereaux Jr. (Bob Odenkirk), an unlikely chairman in a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt.

This won’t help his state of mind… Lucky Hank has been canceled after one season.

Mireille Enos), the vice principal at Railton East High School. Hank and Lily are settled into a comfortable, loving marriage not without its own challenges: she, too, is dealing with work issues and is tempted by the prospect of a prestigious job in New York City but needs to persuade Hank to leave his hometown (and mother) behind — a nearly impossible task.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Bob Odenkirk could find himself in the rare Emmy air this year. AMC will submit Odenkirk’s new series, “Lucky Hank,” in comedy categories for this year’s Emmy competition, Variety has confirmed. Of course, AMC is also submitting the final episodes of Odenkirk’s “Better Call Saul” in the drama fields. Should Odenkirk be nominated in both the best drama actor and best comedy actor races, he would become the first performer in history to be nominated in both genres in the same year. Several performers have been nominated and even won Emmys as both drama and comedy leads — but never at the same time. It’s a possibility: Odenkirk has been nominated five times in the best drama actor category for “Better Call Saul,” and this will be his final opportunity to compete in that race for “Saul” (which has received 46 nominations through its run, but has yet to win a single Emmy). Meanwhile, Odenkirk has been known first and foremost as a comedy performer, making him a real contender in the comedy race this year for “Hank.”

Joshua Alston Some of the best television shows are about whip-smart operators and the political nuances of their professional worlds. So why then is it so challenging to make a satisfying series about academia? It’s not only difficult to think of a television show that has succeeded in lifting the veil of a university, it’s tough to think of shows that have even tried. The most recent swipe at it was Netflix’s “The Chair,” a thin but charming dramedy starring Sandra Oh that ended after a single season. Even as college campuses remain a go-to battleground for American culture wars, the inner lives of the professors caught in the crossfire are usually reserved for novels. The latest such attempt to animate the tenured life is AMC’s “Lucky Hank,” which is built from just such a novel. It’s an adaptation of “Straight Man,” the Richard Russo novel that preceded his Pulitzer Prize-winning “Empire Falls.” Much of Russo’s work borrowed elements from his real-life origins as an English professor-turned-novelist, which explains why “Lucky Hank” so accurately captures professorial ennui. But it might capture ennui a little too well, resulting in a show that seems to amble in no particular direction with little indication of when it might hit a stride.

Bob Odenkirk is going through a midlife crisis in the AMC series, “Lucky Hank”.

Bob Odenkirk is going through a midlife crisis in the AMC series, .Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, by Richard Russo, the and alum plays Hank Devereaux Jr., head of the English department at the underfunded Railton College, whose life begins to fall apart. Hank's unhappiness is rooted in unresolved issues with his father, a mediocre and entitled student body and the fact that his department is more divided than ever. 's Mireille Enos co-stars as Lily Devereaux, Hank's wife and vice principal of a local high school, who starts to question the path she's on and the choices she's made amid his downward spiral.The newly released trailer reveals the extent of Hank's discontentment as he publicly declares to a class of students that they're swimming in mediocrity and because they're enrolled in a lackluster college like Railton, they «show very little promise.» When his sudden outburst gets out, Hank begins to worry about the impact his unfiltered words could mean for his future at the college and in his personal life.Things get more and more out of control, as Hank attempts to stay afloat while every aspect of his life goes up in flames.

Bob Odenkirk’s next series for AMC has a premiere date. Lucky Hank, an eight-episode series about an English department chairman having a mid-life crisis, will bow March 19 on AMC and AMC+.

AMC has released first-look photos of their upcoming shows that feature stars like Bob Odenkirk, Alexandra Daddario, Harry Hamlin, Okieriete Onadowan, Krysten Ritter, Martin Lawrence and many more. Click through the gallery above to see the images.

EXCLUSIVE: American Housewife alum Diedrich Bader, Sara Amini (Future Man), Cedric Yarbrough (Carol’s Second Act) and Suzanne Cryer (Silicon Valley) are set as series regulars opposite Bob Odenkirk, Mireille Enos and Olivia Scott Welch in Straight Man, AMC’s series adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel, from former The Killing writer-producer Aaron Zelman and The Office alum Paul Lieberstein.

EXCLUSIVE: Picnic star Olivia Scott Welch has been tapped as a lead opposite Bob Odenkirk and Mireille Enos in Straight Man, AMC’s series adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel, from former The Killing writer-producer Aaron Zelman and The Office alum Paul Lieberstein.

BreAnna Bell Mirielle Enos is on her way back to AMC, joining Bob Odenkirk in his “Better Call Saul” followup entitled “Straight Man.” The dramedy, a series adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel of the same name, hails from “The Killing” producer Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein (“The Office”). Enos starred in the “The Killing” throughout its run. Odenkirk stars as William Henry Devereaux Jr., the unexpected English department chairman of an underfunded Pennsylvania college whose unhappiness stems from his tumultuous relationship with his father, a divided department he’s left to fix and the daily struggles of dealing with an entitled student body.

Better Call Saul, the hit spin-off series to its widely popular predecessor Breaking Bad, wrapped up its six-season run on August 15.Witnessing the nuances they brought to their iconic characters over the years, AMC has announced that Bob Odenkirk and Giancarlo Esposito won't be leaving the network's fold just yet.Odenkirk, who played ethically challenged lawyer Saul Goodman to perfection in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, is set to star in the network's new series Straight Man, while Esposito, the man behind the drug dealing Gustavo Fring character on both AMC shows, will be playing the lead role in The Driver. Staying with AMC: Giancarlo Esposito (left) and Bob Odenkirk (right) have both landed the leads for new series with AMC, which will be their third with the network following their roles in Breaking Bad and Better Call SaulBased on the Richard Russo novel of the same name, Straight Man tells the story of William Henry Devereaux Jr.

Bob Odenkirk has been tapped to star in AMC's adaptation of Richard Russo's 1997 novel Straight Man.According to Variety, Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein will adapt the book as a dramedy series in which the 59-year-old actor will play William Henry Devereaux, Jr., the unlikely interim chairman of a college English department who is experiencing a midlife crisis.'I am thrilled that AMC is embracing the unique scenario and characters in Paul and Aaron's adaptation of Straight Man,' Odenkirk, who will also serve as an executive producer, said in a statement. New role: Bob Odenkirk has been tapped to star in AMC's adaptation of Richard Russo's 1997 novel Straight Man.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterWell, that was fast. AMC has formally greenlit the dramedy series “Straight Man” starring Bob Odenkirk a little over two weeks after announcing the show as in development.The show is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Russo. It is described as a mid-life crisis tale set at Railton College in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt.

AMC has handed a series order to its Bob Odenkirk-fronted adaptation of Straight Man.

After playing the gravitas of moral-shifting, slick attorney Saul Goodman on AMC’s 39-Emmy nominated Better Call Saul, Bob Odenkirk, is –to use a line from one of his Mr. Show sketches ready “to blow up the moon” as he pivots back to his comedy roots.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBob Odenkirk could already have a new AMC show lined up.Variety has learned that the “Better Call Saul” star is attached to lead a new dramedy series that is currently being fast-tracked in development at AMC. The series is called “Straight Man,” based on the Richard Russo novel of the same name. It is described a mid-life crisis tale set at Railton College, told in the first person by William Henry Devereaux, Jr.