It’s fair to say that in today’s Hollywood landscape, Hugh Jackman is one of the most sought-after stars, and he remains booked and busy. His jobs aren’t just limited to acting gigs either, as the Australia native has produced a number of titles as well. Now, Jackman is set to put on that hat again, as he’s reportedly teaming up with some talent from The Morning Show for a brand-series that’s being developed for a network. While details are scarce, I’m already digging the wild premise and wish this series was part of the 2024 TV schedule.
Hugh Jackman is taking his talents to Fox by serving as an EP on a drama series, which currently possesses the working title Billionaire Apocalypse. Co-produced by Fox Entertainment Studios, the show is the brainchild of Jay Carson, who co-created The Morning Show. Carson is set to serve as writer and EP as well alongside Kevin Brown. In some ways, it may be disappointing to some fans that Jackman won’t be starring on the show. Yet that doesn’t reduce the intrigue I have over the plot. Check out the brief logline Variety shared:
The richest man on the planet, 200 of his employees, and his family are forced to flee to his private island in the wake of a global financial collapse, where the employees and family members — who he’s treated as afterthoughts for decades — quickly realize he’s no longer rich and thus no longer in charge.
Of course, a show about an extremely wealthy person or family is definitely not unheard of, at this point. The crews and casts of Succession, Billions, Downton Abbey and more can attest to that. However, the notion of an incredibly rich man being forced to lay low – alongside the family and employees he’s derided – on an island sounds so interesting. The brief tease provided suggests this show is going to give some “inmates now running the asylum” vibes. Money, power and disrespect have historically been recipes for compelling TV storytelling, and I really hope that proves to be the case with this show.
News of Hugh Jackman’s new small-screen venture comes after what proved to be a big summer for him. The 56-year-old veteran of stage and screen co-lead the biggest 2024 movie release of the summer – Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine. The film grossed more than $1 billion worldwide and is still adding to that cume. It was also announced the other week that Jackman would team up with Kate Hudson for the musical film Song Sung Blue.
As for Jay Carson, one would think he’s also working away on The Morning Show Season 4. Details on the latest batch of episodes for the show (which is available to stream with an Apple TV+ subscription) are few right now. What I’m more curious about at this point, though, is just how Carson’s forthcoming show will compare to the Emmy-winning journalism drama. While a streaming service allows for more creative freedom, one would think that Carson and co. won’t stir away from dark subject matter on BA.
Fox has yet to reveal a release window for Billionaire Apocalypse, which makes sense, given that it seems like the project is still in the early stages. One would hope that it’s eventually slotted onto the 2025 TV schedule. I’ll be keeping an eye out for updates, and a very small part of me will remain hopeful that EP Hugh Jackman himself might actually appear on the show in some capacity as well.