‘Better Call Saul’ Star Bob Odenkirk Sets Next TV Project at AMC

Better Call Saul may be coming to an end this year, but AMC isn’t ready to part ways with star Bob Odenkirk as the actor sets his next TV gig with the network.

Odenkirk is set to star in and executive produce Straight Man, an adaptation of Richard Russo’s novel of the same name. The project has been fast-tracked by AMC and comes from writers Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein. Peter Farrelly is attached to direct the show from Sony’s TriStar TV and Gran Via for a projected 2023 debut.

Odenkirk in Better Call Saul (Credit: AMC)

Zelman and Lieberstein will serve as co-showrunners on the series which will serve as Odenkirk’s first TV project following a six-season run of Better Call Saul, the prequel to Breaking Bad in which he also appeared for several seasons. Along with Odenkirk, Zelman, Lieberstein, Farrelly, Russo, Naomi Odenkirk, and Mark Provissiero will all serve as executive producers.

Straight Man is a mid-life crisis tale set at Railton College and told in the first person by William Henry Devereaux Jr. (Odenkirk), an unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded college found in Pennsylvania’s rust belt.

Related

'Better Call Saul': Which 'Breaking Bad' Vet Should Appear in Season 6?

“I loved Paul and Aaron’s take on Richard’s excellent, entertaining novel. Once again a project with AMC with a focus on character depth and sensitivity,” Odenkirk said in a statement. “This milieu (academia) seems very pertinent to the conversations we’re all having.  I am drawn to the tone of humanity and humor in the novel and I look forward to playing this role – something lighter than my recent projects but still closely observed and smart.”

Stay tuned to see him in the compelling new role as work on Straight Man gets underway at AMC, and don’t miss Odenkirk in the final season of Better Call Saul when it arrives later this April.

Straight Man, Coming 2023, AMC