As we continue to watch premium pay cable eat the major studio’s lunch, Showtime might be making room on its impressive lineup for Crux, a series about a high-profile cult whose charismatic leader would be played by Kevin Spacey. Ron Lurie, with his penchant for stories of power-play intrigue, would write the pilot and executive produce. Vulture saves the penetrating long view observations for the final paragraph:
Spacey would join an already long list of big names headlining character-driven Showtime series, including Toni Collette (The United States of Tara), Laura Linney (The Big C, debuting in August) and Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie). Pay cable in general has become a more appealing workplace for Oscar-winning feature stars who aren’t getting the high-quality roles they used to in a youth-obsessed Hollywood: Jeremy Irons is set for Showtime’s The Borgias [!!], while Dustin Hoffman, Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline all have shows in the works at HBO. And the role of a charismatic cult leader sounds promising for Spacey; it’s reminiscent of his evil-genius heyday in films like The Usual Suspects and Se7en, and definitely beats a show in which he pays it forward every week.
