Bill Hader developing Jonestown series at HBO, may star as cult leader Jim Jones
The project, which the Barry star is developing alongside Damages co-creator Daniel Zelman, will chronicle the rise and tragic fall of the Peoples Temple and the infamous 1978 mass murder-suicide that claimed over 900 lives in Jonestown, Guyana. Hader and Zelman are co-writing, executive producing, and will act as co-showrunners.
Should the series move forward, it would mark a major tonal shift for Hader, known for balancing comedy and psychological tension in Barry, which earned him two Emmys for lead actor. This new project leans fully into historical drama, focusing on the manipulation, paranoia, and eventual catastrophe that surrounded Jones and his followers.
The announcement comes amid renewed pop culture interest in the Jonestown story, recently referenced in an episode of Apple TV's The Studio.
The Jonestown tragedy has been revisited numerous times in film and television, most notably in the 1980 CBS miniseries Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and through various documentaries and books. HBO previously attempted to launch a Jonestown series from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan in 2016, but it never advanced.
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