Variety reports that Hulu’s Onyx Collective has ordered a pilot for a series adaptation of the graphic novel “Southern Bastards.”
The original comic’s creators, Jason Aaron and Jason Latour, will serve as executive producers. Bill Dubuque wrote the television drama and executive produced, in addition to sharing a co-story credit with Nia DaCosta. DaCosta will executive produce and direct the pilot through his Once & Future company, with Matt Olmstead serving as showrunner and executive producer. Layne Eskridge will serve as executive producer through POV Entertainment, with Proximity Media and Gabriel Nadig also serving as executive producers. This series is produced in conjunction with The Fifth Season.
The project’s logline reads, “A tenacious military veteran travels to Crow County, Alabama, in search of her estranged father. What she discovers is a vicious hornet’s nest of organized crime run by the South’s most winning high school football coach.”
“Southern Bastards” was originally released from 2014 to 2018. The series received critical acclaim from both critics and viewers, winning the Harvey Award for Best New Series in 2015 and multiple Eisner Awards in 2016.
Dubuque is perhaps best known for co-creating the hit Emmy-winning Netflix series “Ozark,” which aired for four seasons on the streamer. He was part of the show’s three Best Drama Series nominations from 2019 to 2022. He is currently preparing the crime drama “MIA” on Peacock. In film, Dubuque is known for writing the screenplays for “The Judge,” “A Family Man,” and both “The Accountant” and “The Accountant 2.”
“Southern Bastards” will be the second television project directed by DaCosta. She previously directed two episodes of the critically acclaimed British series Top Boy. She is best known for her work in film, having directed and written such films as Hedda starring Tessa Thompson, the MCU film Marvels, Jordan Peele’s reboot Candyman, and her debut film Little Woods. DaCosta will next direct the long-awaited sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
Olmsted co-created the hit shows “Chicago Med” and “Chicago PD,” the former in its 11th season and the latter in its 13th season. He has previously served as showrunner on series such as “Prison Break,” “NYPD Blue,” “Chicago Fire,” and “FBI International.”
Dubuque is repped by CAA and Goodman Genow. DaCosta is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360, Cassarotto Ramsey and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka. Mr. Olmstead is repped by WME and Goodman Genow. Aaron and Latour are repped by Angela Chen Caplan and Harris Miller. Eskridge is repped by WME.
