‘B99’s Joe Lo Truglio Joins James Comey CBS Studios Series as Jeff Sessions
UPDATED (11/27/2019):
CBS Studios’ upcoming miniseries based on James Comey’s bestselling book, A Higher Loyalty, is adding to its star-studded cast.
As previously announced, Jeff Daniels will portray Comey with Brendan Gleeson joining him as Donald Trump. Michael Kelly had been announced as Andrew McCabe, while Jennifer Ehle was previously revealed as Patrice Comey. Now, Deadline has revealed that Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Joe Lo Truglio will take on the role of Jeff Sessions in the series.
Additionally, other castings announced were: Damon Gupton as Jeh Johnson, Michael Hyatt as Loretta Lynch, and Spencer Garrett as Bill Sweeney. They join other recently revealed cast members Holly Hunter as Sally Yates, Peter Coyote as Robert Mueller, Steven Pasquale as Peter Stzork, Oona Chaplin as Lisa Page, Kingsley Ben-Adir as Barack Obama, Brian d’Arcy James as Mark Giuliano, Steve Zissis as Jim Baker, Shawn Doyle as Bill Priestap, Jonathan Banks as James Clapper, Richard Thomas as Chuck Rosenberg, Seann Gallagher as Jim Rybicki and Amy Seimetz as Trisha Anderson.
(Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images ; Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
ORIGINAL STORY (10/7/2019):
Jeff Daniels will star as former FBI Director James Comey and Brendan Gleeson will portray Donald Trump in a forthcoming four-hour event limited series from CBS Studios.
The miniseries, which is based on Comey’s New York Times bestselling book A Higher Loyalty, will begin production in November with a release date to be announced at a later time. The project hails from Oscar-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, Shattered Glass) who will adapted the book and direct the currently untitled miniseries.
Executive produced by Alex Kurtzman, Shane Salerno and Heather Kadin, the drama is based on Comey’s documented account of real-life events.
“Jeff is so perfect for this part. Great actor, instant integrity, loads of warmth, intelligence, complexity and gravitas. We talked backstage after I saw him in To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway, and I knew I was looking at the only person who could play Jim Comey,” Billy Ray said in a statement. “Lucky for me, he said yes.”
Daniels, a five-time Emmy nominee who won Best Lead Actor for The Newsroom and Best Supporting Actor for Godless has appeared in various shows and films over the years. Among some of his notable credits are the above-mentioned titles as well as The Martian, Terms of Endearment, Looper, The Hours, The Squid and the Whale and much more.
“It’s hard to imagine a bigger acting challenge than playing Donald Trump. You have to have presence, and a singular kind of dynamism,” Ray said. “You also have to have the courage and the will to play Trump’s psychology from the inside out. Oh, and you have to be spectacularly talented and watchable. Not many actors check all those boxes. Brendan does. I’m ecstatic about this.”
Michael Kelly and Jennifer Ehle (Credit: Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb; John Phillips/Getty Images for BFI)
Gleeson is best known for his roles in Harry Potter, Mr. Mercedes, In Bruges, Cold Mountain and more. Also joining Gleeson and Daniels are additional cast members Michael Kelly (House of Cards) and Jennifer Ehle (The Looming Tower) will play current FBI Director Andrew McCabe and Jame Comey’s wife, Patrice Comey.
After more than a year of comprehensive research that involved trips to Washington D.C. and meetings with Comey, his friends, family and other key peoples from A Higher Loyalty, Ray is finally bringing the project to life. Comey’s book debuted at the top of the New York Times bestseller list and has sold over two million copies since its release.
The miniseries will be produced by Secret Hideout, The Story Factory and Home Run Productions in association with CBS Television Studios.
