As the unstoppable locomotive that is Netflix rolls on, popular actor Kyle Chandler is the latest to climb aboard with a brand new TV show from the creators of Damages.
During the past ten years, Chandler has very quietly and very steadily established himself as one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood. Since landing the lead role in Peter Berg’s TV show Friday Night Lights, he has methodically channelled positive reaction to that Emmy-winning performance into small roles in huge movies.
The Kingdom, The Day The Earth Stood Still and Super 8 all featured Chandler in supporting parts, while the Best Picture category of the Academy Awards has included one or more Kyle Chandler films each year for the past two years (Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and The Wolf Of Wall Street). Not bad for the guy from Early Edition.
While Chandler has been successfully focused on film work since the plug was pulled on Friday Night Lights in 2011, the world of television has been determined to lure him back – managing to do so with the ill-fated 2013 pilot The Vatican. Sounding like a sure-thing on paper, that show was from Paul Attanasio (House), with Ridley Scott making his TV directorial debut, and looked to explore the hidden world behind-the-scenes of the Catholic Church. It was rumours of problems behind-the-scenes of the show, however, that ultimately led to Showtime passing on the project.
Despite the failure of that pilot, Sony Pictures Television – producers of The Vatican – were keen to keep Kyle Chandler in-house, and so their new 13-episode series will make its home at Netflix, with Chandler heading the yet-to-be-announced cast. The ‘family thriller’ will tell the tale of siblings forced to confront long-buried tensions when their estranged brother reappears. Playing the role of the dependable sibling, it seems Chandler will be the foil to the more troubled, disruptive brother.
While the project is yet to be titled, the premise sounds quite solid so far, not least because it places Chandler in the type of role we are most familiar with seeing him in: the reliable family man, providing a steady anchor amidst swirling chaos. With its Damages pedigree, Netflix involvement and Kyle Chandler playing to his strengths, this upcoming TV show is certainly one to watch for.