After going through a drama lull in the years since Game of Thrones’ debut, HBO is doubling down on serious programming. The network has ordered drama pilots from Oscar-minted big shots Kathryn Bigelow and Adam McKay. Bigelow’s project, Mogadishu, Minnesota, is a family drama that “grapples with what it means to be American among the Somalis of Minneapolis.” Bigelow will executive-produce the series, while Somalian-born rapper K’naan Warsame is set to executive-produce, write, and direct. McKay’s Succession is also a family drama of sorts, following a “fictional, American global-media family that is not only rich and powerful but also powerfully” — yep, you called it — “dysfunctional.” Succession counts Will Ferrell and Frank Rich among its executive-producing stewardship, with Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show) co-creating. So, can HBO borrow a hook? Because we smell awards bait.
