Anna Daniels
Last summer, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss signed a massive five-year deal with Netflix worth $250 million, which precipitated their departure from a galaxy far, far away. Six months later, we now know what their next big project is going to be at the streaming service.
Benioff and Weiss and fellow Game of Thrones executive producer Bernadette Caulfield will executive produce a new dramedy series called The Chair, which will star Sandra Oh. Actress and playwright Amanda Peet will write and serve as the showrunner. Get more details below.
Variety reports that Killing Eve star Sandra Oh will headline a new six-episode half-hour dramedy series called The Chair, which “centers on the Chair of an English department at a major university.” That’s not much to go on, but we’re always happen to see Sandra Oh get more work, so we’re hoping this part gives her a lot to chew on. Jay Duplass (Transparent) is reportedly also attached in an undisclosed role.
This will mark the first time Peet has created and served as the showrunner of a television series, though Variety points out she’s written multiple plays, including “The Commons of Pensacola” and “Our Very Own Carlin McCullough.” She’s best known as an actress, having starred in things like Saving Silverman and The Whole Nine Yards. She was also a part of the ensemble cast of Togetherness, the excellent HBO series that was co-created and executive produced by Jay Duplass, so it seems as if the former co-stars will be switching jobs this time around. Peet co-wrote the pilot of The Chair with Annie Julia-Wyman.
Also, Killing Eve fans out there who may be worried that Sandra Oh’s casting here might mean that Killing Eve is on the way out should not be worried. That BBC America/AMC spy drama has already been renewed for a fourth season ahead of its upcoming third season premiere. It’s a big hit for those networks, and the executives there seem to have no interest in bringing it to an end any time soon, so Oh should be able to appear in both without an issue.
While The Chair will be the first series that Benioff and Weiss will executive produce for Netflix, it won’t be the first project they’ve worked on for the streamer since Game of Thrones came to an end. Earlier this year, the duo co-directed a stand-up special for Saturday Night Live veteran Leslie Jones, titled Leslie Jones: Time Machine.
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