Jeremy Strong has been cast as the lead in the series adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s novel “Crossroads,” currently in development at Netflix, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.
The package is brought to you by Media Res, and in addition to starring, Strong will serve as executive producer. Amy Herzog (“A Marriage,” “Savant”) will serve as screenwriter and executive producer. Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg and Lindsay Springer will also executive produce alongside Franzen.
A representative for Netflix declined to comment.
According to the series description, “A Midwestern pastor and his family see their lives disintegrated as a church scandal forces each of them to pursue lust and freedom in this darkly funny and epic American family drama set in the early 1970s.”
This novel was originally published in 2021. It is the first work in an intended trilogy that Franzen dubbed “The Key to All Myths.”
If “Crossroads” goes ahead, it would be the latest major TV project based on a book that Strong has launched at Netflix. He is currently filming The Boys from Brazil, a series based on Ira Levin’s novel of the same name. He will also star in Paramount+’s limited series “9/12,” which follows a landmark lawsuit involving 9/11 first responders.
Strong is best known for playing Kendall Roy on the hit HBO series “Succession,” for which he won the Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series out of three total nominations. In 2022, the series also won a Golden Globe Award in the same category. Strong won his first Academy Award in 2025 for his role as Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. Strong is also known for his roles in films such as “Springsteen: The Deliverist from Nowhere,” “The Big Short,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” and “Parkland.”
He is repped by WME, Range, Hansen Jacobson and ID.
Media Res previously worked with Herzog, and the company produced “Scenes From a Wedding” for HBO. Media Res’ current schedule includes Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” and “Pachinko,” as well as Apple’s upcoming shows “The Dealer,” Peacock’s “The Miniature Wife” and Netflix’s Silicon Valley drama “Thumblite.”
In addition to his credits as a television screenwriter, Herzog is also an acclaimed playwright. She was nominated for two Tony Awards in 2024. One is for Best Play (“Mary Jane”) and the other is for Best Play (“An Enemy of the People”). She was also nominated for Best Replay in 2023 for “A Doll’s House.” His 2013 play “4000 Miles” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
