Will Forte, the actor which have been tapped to star in the dark comedic thriller Bodkin, the first scripted drama series by the Obamas. Jez Scharf (Mister Biscuits, The UnDream) created the seven-episode series about a group of podcasters who investigate a missing persons case. Scharf and Alex Metcalf (The Loudest Voice, Sharp Objects, Netflix’s Kingdom) serve as co-showrunners and exec produce the series alongside Wiip’s David Flynn and Paul Lee. Nash Edgerton (Mr Inbetween) is set to serve as the drama’s lead director. The cast includes Siobhán Cullen (The Dry), Robyn Cara (Trying), David Wilmot (Station Eleven) and Chris Walley (The Last Voyage of the Demeter).
Barack and Michelle Obama will also exec produce, with an overall deal through their Higher Ground production company based at Netflix. Higher Ground’s Tonia Davis and Former Wiip creative lead Nne Ebong will also exec produce. The project reunited Ebong with Lee. The duo, in addition to time together at Wiip, also had senior roles at ABC (as head of drama and entertainment, respectively).
Bodkin is Higher Ground’s first scripted drama series for Netflix and joins a slate that also includes its first live-action scripted comedy, animated kids entry Ada Twist, We the People, American Factory, Crip Camp, Becoming and Fatherhood.
Describing, here’s the show’s official logline, “Bodkin is a darkly comedic thriller about a motley crew of podcasters who set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic, coastal Irish town. But once they start pulling at threads, they discover a story much bigger and weirder than they could have ever imagined. As our heroes try to discern fact from fiction — about the case, about their colleagues and, most painfully, themselves — the series challenges our perception of truth and exposes the stories we tell ourselves to justify our beliefs or validate our fears.”
Forte plays Gilbert, Charming, open and enthusiastic, Gilbert Power is an American podcaster on the hunt for his next big story.
