Bob Odenkirk is poised to stay at AMC with college-set dramedy Straight Man

TVLine

With Better Call Saul wrapping its six-season run, Odenkirk has potentially found his next TV role at his longtime network home of AMC. Based on Richard Russo's 1998 novel of the same name, Straight Man stars Odenkirk as William Henry Devereaux Jr., the unlikely chairman of a fictional Pennsylvania Rust Belt college’s English department in a “mid-life crisis tale." Damages co-creator Aaron Zelman and former The Office showrunner and star Paul Lieberstein are adapting the book and will serve as co-showrunners. “I loved Paul and Aaron’s take on Richard’s excellent, entertaining novel,” Odenkirk said in a statement. “Once again a project with AMC with a focus on character depth and sensitivity. This milieu (academia) seems very pertinent to the conversations we’re all having. I am drawn to the tone of humanity and humor in the novel, and I look forward to playing this role — something lighter than my recent projects, but still closely observed and smart.” If Straight Man is picked up, it would mark Odenkirk's third AMC series after Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.