The ongoing LIV Golf-PGA Tour drama has drawn lots of attention, including coverage of lawsuits, coverage of players’ comments, and even coverage of how broadcasters like CBS have handled events like The Masters with players from both organizations. And now, a fictionalized version of that rivalry may wind up as a TV series. And that’s with Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell attached as executive producers, and with Ferrell attached to star:
EXCLUSIVE: Will Ferrell & Jessica Elbaum’s Gloria Sanchez Productions and Rian Johnson & Ram Bergman’s T-Street have joined forces to develop a comedy TV series as a starring vehicle for Ferrell, Deadline has learned https://t.co/KjK4Dd7E90
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) April 19, 2023
Here’s more from that Deadline piece, from Nellie Andreeva:
In what is shaping up to become one of the biggest TV comedy packages to hit the marketplace in awhile, Will Ferrell & Jessica Elbaum’s Gloria Sanchez Productions and Rian Johnson & Ram Bergman’s T-Street have teamed up to develop a comedy TV series as a starring vehicle for Ferrell, I have learned.
No one would comment but I hear the series revolves around a professional golfer who becomes the face of a controversial new league competing with the PGA.
While fictional, the story would inevitably draw parallels to the controversial LIV Golf startup.
…Ferrell and Elbaum executive produce for Gloria Sanchez; Johnson and Bergman executive produce alongside T-Street’s President of TV Nena Rodrigue. Johnson is not expected to write or direct.
Ferrell has been involved in a lot of sports movie projects over the years, including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Semi-Pro, and Blades of Glory. He’s shown sports interest elsewhere too, from his long-running Harry Caray impression to introducing NBA starting lineups to a stint playing all nine positions in a Cactus League game (featured in an HBO special) to an appearance as his Anchorman character Ron Burgundy to promote a LAFC match (a team where he’s a part-owner; he’s seen above on the pitch ahead of a LAFC match in San Jose last summer). And he’s long had an interest in golf, and has hosted The Will Powered Golf Classic (a fundraising event benefiting Cancer for College), for two decades. So there are some logical fits here for him.
It’s also interesting to see Ferrell doing a TV project, as most of his acting career since leaving Saturday Night Live in 2002 has been about movies. Andreeva notes that his only major TV role since SNL has been 2021 dark comedy/drama limited series The Shrink Next Door. So it seems likely there may be some strong interest from networks in this project. And the current attention around the PGA Tour-LIV Golf battle may further add to that. This will be one to keep an eye on.
[Deadline]
