Showtime has picked up comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida, which will debut Sunday, Aug. 25. Kirsten Dunst stars and George Clooney produces.
Episodes run for 60 minutes. Showtime is on board for nine episodes.
Rubert Funke and Matt Lutsky created the show, which Showtime says is about “the cult of free enterprise and one woman’s relentless pursuit of the American Dream,” and executive produce it as well.
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The series was acquired from YouTube.
“We were immediately drawn to this stylish and subversive female empowerment story starring Kirsten Dunst as you’ve never seen her before,” said Gary Levine, president of entertainment at Showtime. “Throw in clever writing, inventive filmmaking, a strong, diverse ensemble and some alligators, and we’re confident Showtime audiences will find On Becoming a God irresistible!”
Smokehouse Pictures’ Clooney and Grant Heslov executive produce, along with Dunst, Charlie McDowell, who also directed the pilot, and Esta Spalding, who is showrunner.
Also in the cast are Théodore Pellerin, Beth Ditto, Mel Rodriguez and Ted Levine.
Set in an Orlando-adjacent town in 1992, On Becoming a God follows Krystal Stubbs (Dunst), a minimum-wage water park employee who lies and cons her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise (FAM) — the cultish, multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme that drove her to ruin in the first place, run by the powerful Obie Garbeau II (Levine). Krystal dives deep into FAM and develops a tangled relationship with FAM’s most fanatical follower Cody (Pellerin), until her business begins to affect those closest to her, including Ernie (Rodriguez), her affable boss, and his FAM-skeptic wife Bets (Ditto).
Sony’s TriStar Television produces.
