The boundaries and lines of demarcation that constrain normal actors — Nay, the boundaries and lines of demarcation that constrain normal mortals — have never applied to James Franco.
Writer, fictional love pillow enthusiast, director, soap star, producer and eternal graduate student James Franco is diving into the world of streaming television, but is the “127 Hours” star doing the expected thing and committing to Netflix or up-and-coming new kid Amazon?
Nope.
James Franco is set to star in “11/22/63,” the Hulu event series that marks that service's biggest push yet into original programming.
Based on the novel by Stephen King and adapted by EP and writer Bridget Carpenter, “11/22/63” focuses on high school English teacher Jake Epping, who travels back in time to stop JFK's assassination, but runs into a variety of complications and paradoxes in the process.
Franco will play Epping and he will also produce the nine-hour series that comes from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and Warner Brothers TV.
The role no doubt hits close to home for Franco because, as the Hulu release announcing his casting points out, he has taught at UCLA, USC, Cal Arts and Studio 4.
Depending on whether or not you count an event series as a “regular” TV gig, this will be Franco's first time as a TV regular since “Freaks & Geeks.” However, despite a thriving movie career that includes “The Interview” and the recent Sundance dramas “True Story” and “I Am Michael,” Franco has never hesitated to do TV stints on things like “The Mindy Project,” “30 Rock” and, of course, “General Hospital.” Franco has been nominated for Emmys for “James Dean” and also as part of the team on 83rd Annual Academy Awards.
And it's not like Franco is a stranger to the digital space, having done “Making a Scene with James Franco” as an AOL Original.
Are you pumped for “11/22/63” now?