Paul Giamatti To Star In FX Comedic Drama Pilot Based On Charles Willeford’s Novels

Hoke, a darkly comedic drama starring Paul Giamatti, has received a pilot order at FX. Based on Charles Willeford’s series of novels Sideswipe, New Hope for the Dead and The Way We Die Now, the project was written by feature scribe Scott Frank, who will direct the pilot and he will be showrunner if Hoke goes to series. Hoke is a story of mid-life crisis and murder that features the hardboiled and possibly insane homicide detective, Hoke Moseley (Giamatti), in pre-chic Miami circa 1985. Giamatti, Frank, Curtis Hanson, Carol Fenelon and Dan Carey executive produce for FX Prods. Filming is scheduled to begin later this year in Miami. “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,” said FX president of original programming Eric Schrier. “Scott Frank delivered a magnificent script and we are honored that Paul Giamatti will bring Hoke to life.”

Frank received an Oscar nomination for his adaptation of Out Of Sight and a Golden Globe noination for his adaptation of another Leonard novel, Get Shorty. He just adapted and directed A Walk Among the Tombstones, from the novel by Lawrence Block, starring Liam Neeson for  Universal. Giamatti is reprped by Kipperman Management and UTA; Hanson, Fenelon and Carey are qith UTA; Frank is with CAA. Hoke joins two other drama pilots in production at FX, The Strain from Guillermo del Toro and Carlton Cuse; and Tyrant from Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff and Craig Wright.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.