FX is one of the most high-quality and innovative basic cable networks on TV today (behind only Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead network AMC in my estimation), which explains my excitement at recent news that the network has ordered the pilot for dark comedy detective show entitled Hoke, starring none other than Paul Giamatti.
Hoke, adapted from the crime novels of Charles Willeford, will center on the professional and personal life of hardboiled, mentally unstable homicide detective Hoke Moseley. The show will be set in Miami, circa 1985. Scott Frank, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for Out of Sight, both wrote the script for and will direct the show’s pilot. Frank will also serve as executive producer, alongside Giamatti and Oscar-winner Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential), and as Hoke‘s showrunner in the likely event that FX orders a full season of the show.
Eric Schrier, the president of original programming over at FX, had the following to say about the project:
Like Elmore Leonard, Charles Willeford is one of the most deeply respected writers of crime fiction and he created a wholly original and colorful lead character in Detective Hoke Mosely. Scott Frank delivered a magnificent script and we are honored that Paul Giamatti will bring Hoke to life.
Leonard, who recently passed away at the age of 87, was a prolific writer and the creator of Raylan Givens, the protagonist of another FX series, Justified. Funnily enough, Hoke‘s relations to Leonard don’t end there. Frank previously wrote the screenplays for Get Shorty and Out of Sight, both acclaimed adaptations of Leonard novels. It’s safe to say that if a worthy adaptation of Willeford’s dark, humorous series is ever to be made, Frank is the right man for the job.
Hoke will reportedly incorporate the plots of two Willeford novels, New Hope for the Dead and Sideswipe. The first installment in Willeford’s Hoke series, Miami Blues, was previously made into a 1990 film starring Alec Baldwin.
FX frequently delivers groundbreaking, award-winning programming; the channel’s current lineup includes a bevy of critically acclaimed shows, such as American Horror Story, Sons of Anarchy, Louie, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Archer, Wilfred, and Justified. Both FX and soon-to-launch sister channel FXX are quickly becoming the premiere destination for Hollywood stars to take ambitious stories and complex characters; the shows mentioned above include such big-name talents as Jessica Lange, Ron Perlman and Elijah Wood. With Giamatti joining that already impressive list of names, FX could soon very well rival premium channels like HBO and SHOWTIME in terms of high-quality, star-studded programming.
If Hoke is ordered to series, it will join two other high-profile projects in FX’s pipeline: an adaptation of Guillermo del Toro’s apocalyptic vampire horror series The Strain, and political thriller Tyrant.
Are you excited for Hoke? Let us know in the comments section.