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Yorgos Lanthimos to Direct a Strangely Titled New AMC Series

By  · Published on January 9th, 2017

Kirsten Dunst and George Clooney are set to star in the dark comedy series.

Two days ago, The Hollywood Reporter announced that the Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos will direct a new hour-long dark comedy series for AMC, to be executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Kirsten Dunst is set to star in the series, titled On Becoming a God in Central Florida. What a strange and intriguing title!

The project has been described as a darkly comic story centered on Krystal Gill, an Orlando water park employee, and her pursuit of the American Dream in the early 1990s. Widowed and left with nothing, she schemes and cons her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise, a multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme. Dunst was recently nominated for her work as Peggy Blumquist in season 2 of FX’s Fargo – another black comedy. Dunst’s latest move could represent the beginning of a long and successful career in television for Dunst.

If you read FSR regularly, you will know that Lanthimos’ latest film, The Lobster, is one of our favorites of 2016. Lanthimos is also known for his previous features like Dogtooth (2009) and Alps (2011) and has proven himself to be one of the most original voices in contemporary cinema. It will be interesting to see how Lanthimos’ directorial skills translate to the world of television. Directors such as David Lynch (Twin Peaks), David Fincher (House of Cards), and Oliver Stone (The Untold History of the United States) have all worked in both television and movies, and it seems likely that Lanthimos will be able to successfully make the transition as well.

The series was written by Robert Funke and Matt Lusky and will be produced by Clooney and Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures (Argo) as well as Sony TriStar Television and AMC. AMC is known for broadcasting some of the most critically acclaimed series of the past decade, such as Mad Men, Breaking Bad and its spinoff, Better Call Saul. On Becoming a God in Central Florida does not have an official release date yet, but it is definitely one of the most promising upcoming television series of 2017.

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Actual film school graduate from Toronto. Always thinking and writing about queerness, feminism, camp, melodrama, and popular culture.