Eddie Murphy is heading to scripted television for the first time. Variety reports he is attached to star in The Chairman, a drama series in development at Peacock from Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. If the streamer greenlights the project, it would mark Murphy’s first live action role in a scripted series. His only scripted TV work to date was voicing The PJs, the animated series he co-created.
No plot details have been announced. The Chairman is produced by Universal Television and 101 Studios, the company run by Yellowstone executive producer David Glasser that holds a first look deal at NBCUniversal. It is also the first project to come out of former Paramount boss Chris McCarthy’s consulting arrangement with NBCU. Murphy and Weiner both serve as producers.
Weiner created and ran Mad Men, the acclaimed AMC drama that ran for seven seasons, after starting out as a writer and executive producer on The Sopranos. The Chairman hands Peacock a prestige star vehicle with one of the most decorated showrunners in television history.