After turning heads with his eye-catching performance in J.C. Chandor’s A Most Violent Year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens star Oscar Isaac is returning to the genre of period dramas for David Simon’s anticipated six-part miniseries, Show Me a Hero.
Lifted from the pages of Lisa Belkin’s acclaimed 1999 novel of the same name, Isaac assumes the role of real-life mayor Nick Wasicsko, who has to shoulder the burden of implementing legally mandated low income housing against a fierce backlash from the more affluent members of society. Offering up a rich tapestry of characters, the miniseries will showcase the city’s palpable class disparity from both sides of the equation, giving Isaac ample room to flex his acting muscles as he continues to establish a reputation as one of the industry’s bankable character actors.
With Crash director Paul Haggis behind the lens and The Wire‘s David Simon overseeing the adaptation, there is plenty to get excited about on both sides of the camera. HBO has a prestigious track record when it comes to deliver multi-faceted dramas, whether its in the fantastical realm of Westeros or the more contemporary affairs in the vein of True Detective.
For Show Me a Hero, the network’s new-fangled miniseries will also star Catherine Keener, Winona Ryder, Jon Bernthal, Alfred Molina, Bob Balaban in the politically-charged drama.
Show Me a Hero will make its debut on HBO on Sunday, August 16th at 9 PM. In the meantime, you can check out the official synopsis down below.
From creator David Simon (HBO’s “Treme” and “The Wire”) and director Paul Haggis (“Crash”), and based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin, this six-part miniseries explores notions of home, race and community through the lives of elected officials, bureaucrats, activists and ordinary citizens in Yonkers, NY. In an America generations removed from the greatest civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the young mayor of a mid-sized American city is faced with a federal court order that says he must build a small number of low-income housing units in the white neighborhoods of his town. His attempt to do so tears the entire city apart, paralyzes the municipal government and, ultimately, destroys the mayor and his political future.
