Bill Hader might be trading dark comedy for just plain darkness.
The Barry creator and Emmy-winning actor is co-developing a new HBO series centered on Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre—a chilling chapter of American history where more than 900 members of a religious cult died in a mass murder-suicide under Jones’ direction. Hader is teaming up with producer Daniel Zelman (Bloodline), and if the project moves forward, he may also direct and star in the series.
The show will explore the rise and horrifying fall of the Peoples Temple, a movement founded by Jones in the 1950s that presented itself as a progressive Christian church but devolved into a paranoid, authoritarian cult. Jonestown, the agricultural commune Jones established in the jungles of Guyana in the 1970s, became infamous in 1978 when its residents—many under coercion or armed guard—drank cyanide-laced Flavor Aid at Jones’ command. The phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” has haunted American culture ever since.
HBO has not confirmed casting or release details, but Hader’s involvement has already sparked online buzz. The project follows renewed interest in Jonestown as a cultural symbol. A fictionalized Jonestown film appeared in a recent episode of Apple TV+’s The Studio, and other major creators—like Breaking Bad showrunner Vince Gilligan—have attempted their own retellings, though most have not made it past development.
While Hader is best known for balancing chaos and comedy—from his sketch days on Saturday Night Live to the critically acclaimed bleakness of Barry—this move into true crime cult territory marks a new level of intensity. But if anyone can make a series that both disturbs and dissects the human psyche with precision, it’s probably the guy who made audiences laugh and spiral existentially for four seasons straight.
No word yet on when the series will premiere, but one thing is certain: We’re not ready for Bill Hader as Jim Jones… and we kind of don’t want to be.
