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Actor David Oyelowo has already played some big names, including Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 movie Selma. Now Oyelowo will take on the President of the United States in the upcoming Showtime series The President Is Missing.
The show is an adaptation of the novel by former president Bill Clinton and author James Patterson. So far, Showtime has only greenlighted the project to a pilot episode, but if it receives good feedback it will be ordered to series. According to Deadline, Oyelowo will also serve as an executive producer along with Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie, Anthony Peckham who wrote the adaptation, Heather McQuarrie, as well as Patterson and Clinton.
According to Deadline, the project’s description reads:
“A powerless and politically aimless vice president (Oyelowo) unexpectedly becomes president halfway into his administration’s first term, despite his every wish to the contrary. He walks right into a secret, world-threatening crisis, both inside and outside the White House. Attacked by friends and enemies alike, with scandal and conspiracy swirling around him, he is confronted with a terrible choice: keep his head down, toe the party line and survive, or act on his stubborn, late-developing conscience and take a stand.”
The bestselling book that the show is based on became the No. 1 novel of 2018 and it sold more than 2.3 million copies in North America alone.
“David brings such enormous depth, sensitivity and power to every role he plays,” said Gary Levine, the President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks. “Having him as our lead ensures that our series will have the exhilarating suspense of a political thriller along with the juicy complexity of a character drama.”
