Yes indeed, filmmakersJoelandEthan Coenare actually coming to television. Unlike FX’sFargo, which is based on a Coen brothers film but has no involvement from the Oscar-winning writer/directors, Joel and Ethan are writing and directing a new Western anthology series calledThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs, meaning the next Coen brothers project is a TV series. The anthology hails from Annapurna Television, which is an offshoot ofMegan Ellison’s stellar production arm Annapurna Pictures, and the plan is to pursue “an innovative television and theatrical integrated approach,” meaning some portion of the series will likely get a theatrical release. The show is not yet set up at a network, but one imagines every network under the sun will be bending over backwards to land this Coen brothers series.
There are no further details beyond the fact thatThe Ballad of Buster Scruggsis a Western anthology and will be written, directed, and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen with Ellison andSue Naegleexecutive producing, but really that’s all the selling point you need. Don’t even bother with a trailer—I’m sold.
This is immensely exciting news, as the Coens aretwo of the greatest American filmmakers of all time. They’re coming off of the Hollywood-centric comedyHail, Caesar!and before that crafted one of their best features yet,Inside Llewyn Davis, but a move to television is wholly unexpected.
And yet, it probably shouldn’t be. Auteur-driven TV has been growing in popularity over the last few years, as directors likeDavid FincherandSteven Soderberghhave made the move to television. Some, like Soderbergh, have taken “auteur” to the next level by directing every single episode of said series (in Soderbergh’s case, the phenomenal Cinemax showThe Knick).David O. Russellis doing the same witha star-studded new show set up at Amazon, andWoody Allenrecently teamed up with that streaming service for his TV series debutCrisis in Six Scenes.
It’s unclear what route the Coens will take, but it’s hard to imagine themnotdirecting every episode of the anthology series—at least for the first season. They’re no strangers to the Western genre with the masterpieceNo Country for Old Menand the nostalgic 2010 effortTrue Gritunder their belts, and it’s nice to know that Annapurna intends to at least make some portion of the series available on the big screen. Assuming regular cinematographerRoger Deakinsis at the helm, it’d be a shame not to take in a new Coen brothers western in the movie theater.
Ellison founded Annapurna Pictures five years ago with a mission to craft sophisticated, high-quality content, and she succeeded wildly. The company’s first features includedThe Master,Zero Dark Thirty,Spring Breakers, andHer, and they’ve recently diversified even more with critically acclaimed films likeSausage Partyand20th Century Women. On the docket still to come areAlexander Payne’sDownsizing, Bigelow’suntitled Detroit project, andWes Anderson’sIsle of Dogs, and now Annapurna TV is starting to take off in a big, big way.
