That would be Alex Gibney and Laura Dern. That’s correct, that is Alex Gibney as in the director of such HBO documentaries as SINATRA: ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL, GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF, MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN and MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD. And that is the same Laura Dern who is involved in BIG LITTLE LIES and DIVORCE and who starred in ENLIGHTENED and HBO Films: RECOUNT for the channel. They are teaming up to develop an unnamed drama for HBO.
It will center on a court-appointed psychiatrist (Dern) who must determine from her twisted yet humanizing diagnostic exchanges with death row inmates if they are sane enough to be killed by the state.
Not only is she planning on starring in it she will be an executive producer as well. Which makes you wonder how she will be fitting in to all the other commitments she has going with the network. Assisting her is Jayme Lemons (ENLIGHTENED) as a producer. A Robert Kealing, an investigative and criminal justice reporter, is a consultant for the potential series.
Gibney is taking his first venture into the realm of fictional work in this piece. He will direct as well as serve as an executive producer. The documentarian is no stranger to the topic as he has examined the topic for CNN with Death Row Stories. Gibney has been quoted as saying –
“I am thrilled to be embarking on this dramatic journey with Laura and Jayme. It’s an opportunity to shine a light on a dark and brutal corner of our justice system with a series of illuminating conversations that explore the best and worst of what it means to be human.”
Think of it perhaps like HBO’s IN TREATMENT crossed with OZ. We will keep you posted.
(Source: Deadline)
