Drama series The One Percent was announced back in summer 2014 with a burst of optimistic positivity. Creator/director Alejandro G. Iñárritu was about to release the highly anticipated Birdman, which would go on to nab Best Picture and Best Director Oscars, and Starz snapped up his proposed ten episode miniseries with high hopes.
The One Percent was billed as following a desperate family of farmers on the brink of bankruptcy who’re saved by a weird twist of fate. Ed Helms was down to play the husband, and Hilary Swank was signed up for the wife. The buzz was good, the locations were chosen, the cast ready to go and then…. radio silence.
Iñárritu moved on to The Revenant (subsequently his second Best Director Oscar), itself delayed by a notoriously miserable shoot, bedevilled by freezing weather and the insistence on shooting the entire film in sequence. That all paid off, but it left Starz nervously wondering where their high profile drama series helmed by a now two-time Best Director winner was.
Today, it’s being announced that they’re done waiting. Starz (and Ed Helms) have pulled out, citing production delays. This leaves the show, and production company MRC without a distributor. MRC assure us that they’re firmly committed to the project, which now boasts Greg Kinnear in the main role, but Iñárritu is insisting upon filming in sequence once more, meaning a potential lengthy production shoot on location at a genuine Midwest farm, which is a production scheduling nightmare.
So, what are the chances of this promising sounding drama actually making it to TV screens? By my reckoning, the clue is in the title.
