Ryan Murphy's New Netflix Comedy Series 'The Politician' to Star Ben Platt, Possibly Barbra Streisand and Gwyneth Paltrow
Ryan Murphy's "The Politician" finds a home in Netflix.
According to Deadline, the new comedy series will star Ben Platt as a wealthy Santa Barbara native named Payton, who has political aspirations. Platt is known for his role as Benji Applebaum in "Pitch Perfect" and "Pitch Perfect 2," as well as portraying the title character in the Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen," for which he won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also recently ventured into the world of television, with a guest-starring role on the ninth season of NBC's "Will & Grace."
Apart from Platt, Academy Award-winning actresses Barbra Streisand and Gwyneth Paltrow are both in negotiations to co-star. Streisand is set to become a part of the production team, as well as direct, should her deal push through. As for Paltrow, her deal includes a producing credit. Paltrow previously worked with Murphy on "Glee," for which she won an Emmy Award for her guest-starring role as Holly Holliday.
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"The Politician" has been given a two-season straight-to-series order, with Murphy sharing co-creator credits with frequent collaborator Brad Falchuk, who is engaged to Paltrow, and "Glee" co-creator Ian Brennan. Netflix ultimately won the bidding war for the project, which also included streaming giants Amazon and Hulu.
The series will reportedly consist of musical numbers as well, which does not come as a surprise since Platt, Streisand, and Paltrow are all skilled vocalists. The new Netflix comedy will be another notch in Murphy's belt, having masterminded several shows like "Nip/Tuck," "Glee," "American Horror Story," "American Crime Story," "Scream Queens," "Feud," and "9-1-1."
Murphy also has another upcoming series on Netflix titled "Ratched," which will focus on a younger version of the titular nurse from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Emmy Award-winning actress and frequent muse Sarah Paulson is set to bring life to the role of Nurse Ratched.
"The Politician" is expected to begin production in late summer.
