EXCLUSIVE: The Alienist writer John Sayles is developing a limited series set in the world of televangelism with AGC Television.
Sayles, who has been nominated for a best screenwriting Oscar for Passion Fish and Lone Star, is developing Electric Church with Black Mirror director John Hillcoat on board to direct.
Sayles co-created the project with Marc-Edouard Leon. The drama tells the true story behind the rise of the Christian Right. In the 1980’s, larger-than-life personalities such as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell ruled the airwaves. They were rich, they were idolized, they epitomized religious excess. The series will explore how their paths collided in an epic saga that would change the face of American politics.
Sayles will exec produce with Hillcoat, AGC Studios founder Stuart Ford, AGC Television President Lourdes Diaz and AGC’s Head of Film Greg Shapiro with Jonathan Pavesi producing.
The deal for Electric Church was negotiated by Diaz, AGC’s COO Miguel Palos, VP of Legal & Business Affairs Anant Tamirisa and VP of Scripted Television Matt Bankston on behalf of AGC, and by APA’s Lucy Stille on behalf of Sayles.
It is the latest television deal for the nascent company, which was set up by Ford in February 2018 and backed by Latin American private asset management firm MediaNet Partners, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Greg Clark and Image Nation Abu Dhabi. In February, it revealed it was developing an adaptation of Christopher Golden’s Ben Walker supernatural novels beginning with Ararat and last year it struck an overall deal with former NBCU chief Jeff Gaspin’s indie Gaspin Media.
AGC has also had a busy week in Cannes with Roland Emmerich’s Midway and his $150M Moonfall and Colin Farrel-fronted Voyagers.
Diaz said, “We are truly privileged to be working with the outstanding talents of John Sayles and John Hillcoat on bringing to the screen this revealing piece of American cultural history.“
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.