Chris O’Dowd – State of the Union _ Season 1 – Photo Credit: Isabella Vosmikova/AMC
Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike has signed on to star in State of the Union – a genuine short form comedy series for SundanceTV and Sundance Now.
Created by Nick Hornsby – and to be directed by Stephen Frears – SotU is ten ten-minute episodes that follow Louise and Tom who meet in a pub immediately before their weekly marital therapy session.
Shooting will begin this summer.
Rosamund Pike – State of the Union _ Season 1 – Photo Credit: Rebecca Miller/AMC
STEPHEN FREARS TO DIRECT ROSAMUND PIKE AND CHRIS O’DOWD IN ‘STATE OF THE UNION’
A NICK HORNBY ORIGINAL SHORT-FORM COMEDY SERIES FROM SEE-SAW FILMS FOR SUNDANCE TV AND SUNDANCE NOW
LONDON, UK / NEW YORK, USA – July 13, 2018 – Critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning film and TV director Stephen Frears (A Very English Scandal, Philomena) is set to direct the ten-part short form comedy series ‘State of the Union’ written by the Academy Award®-nominated and BAFTA-winning writer Nick Hornby (Brooklyn, An Education) and starring Academy Award® and BAFTA-nominated Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Hostiles) and BAFTA-nominated Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, ‘Get Shorty’), it was announced by See-Saw Films’ COO of Television, Hakan Kousetta, Head of Television, Jamie Laurenson and Jan Diedrichsen, General Manager, SundanceTV and Sundance Now. Shooting will commence in summer 2018 in London. See-Saw Films is producing the series for SundanceTV.
A series of ten by ten-minute episodes, ‘State of the Union’ follows Louise and Tom (Pike and O’Dowd) who meet in a pub immediately before their weekly marital therapy session. With each successive episode we piece together how their lives were, what drew them together and what has started to pull them apart. Hornby explores the complexities of marriage with his inimitable honesty and humour.
Hornby said, “I am so pleased to be working again with Stephen, Rosamund and Chris. I first met Stephen when he directed High Fidelity, Rosamund when she revealed her wonderful comic talent in An Education, and Chris when he made the forthcoming Juliet, Naked, and I think they will make a tremendous team. ‘State of the Union’ is an unusual project, so it’s all the more gratifying that we have managed to attract talent of this magnitude.”
Amy Jackson will produce the series for See-Saw Films with Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Nick Hornby with Stephen Frears executive producing. Kristin Jones, EVP of international programming for AMC and SundanceTV, is the executive in charge for SundanceTV.
See-Saw’s Kousetta and Laurenson commented, “The short form series has given Nick the freedom to explore a marriage in crisis which manages to be both funny and touching in equal measure. Realised by such amazing on and off-screen talent, we couldn’t be more excited to see these scripts brought to life.”
“Sundance is thrilled to partner with our good friends at See-Saw Films on this short form original production,” said Jan Diedrichsen, General Manager, SundanceTV and Sundance Now. “We are fortunate to have a dream team in front of and behind the camera to bring to life Nick’s intimate, entertaining and relatable story of a modern marriage to life.”
Stephen Frears is represented by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, with ICM Partners in the US, Nick Hornby is represented by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, Rosamund Pike is represented by United Agents in the UK as well as Magnolia Entertainment and CAA in the US and Chris O’Dowd is represented by Gordon and French in the UK as well as WME and 3 Arts in the US.
ABOUT SEE-SAW FILMS
Academy Award® winning producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman founded See-Saw Films in 2008. See-Saw specializes in international Film and Television production with offices in the UK, Australia and the US. Chief Operating Officer, Hakan Kousetta, co-runs the TV division with its creative Head of TV Jamie Laurenson.
See-Saw’s television division formally started in 2012 and kicked off with the multi-award winning first season of Jane Campion’s ‘Top of the Lake’. Last year Campion returned with ‘Top of The Lake: China Girl’ starring Elisabeth Moss, Nicole Kidman and Gwendoline Christie which premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe.
‘The Legend of Monkey’ is See-Saw’s live action television series for Netflix, ABC Australia and TVNZ. See-Saw is currently in development on ‘The North Water’ to be written and directed by Andrew Haigh (45 Years), adapted from the novel by Ian McGuire.
See-Saw’s recent film projects include six-time Academy Award® nominated Lion, starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara; Mary Magdalene starring Academy Award® nominees Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix; John Cameron Mitchell’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman; and Academy Award® winner Steve McQueen’s Widows which See-Saw is producing for New Regency to be released by Twentieth Century Fox in 2018.