BJ Novak Anthology Series Gets Greenlight at FX

BJ Novak has landed a series order at FX for his half-hour anthology series that was first announced last year, Variety has learned.

“Thrilled, excited, humbled — these are the words in every press release, and I can’t believe how much I actually mean them,” Novak said. “This is my dream show, and FX is the dream place to make it. When I brought it to FX, I wondered if it went too far, and they told me, you can go further. I can’t wait to get started.”

The untitled series is described as using the issues of our times as a jumping off point to tell character-driven stories about the world we live in today. The pick up comes after the show filmed its first two episodes. Each episode will feature a different cast. Episode one stars Lucas Hedges, Kaitlyn Dever, O’Shea Jackson Jr., George Wallace, Ed Asner, Brendan Francis Scannell, among others. The second episode stars Jon Bernthal, Boyd Holbrook, Amy Landecker, Beau Bridges, and more.

Novak wrote and directed the first two episodes and serves as executive producer. FX Productions will produce.

“We have been admirers of B.J. Novak for a long time,” said Nick Grad, president of original programming at FX Entertainment. “We loved his creative twist on the anthology format, and he delivered on two phenomenal episodes. We are looking forward to going into production on the rest of the season and supporting BJ’s ambitious vision for this project.

Novak is best known for his work on “The Office,” on which he served as a writer, director, and in various producer roles in addition to appearing onscreen as Ryan Howard. He also served as an executive producer, director, and writer on “The Mindy Project,” on which he also appeared as Jamie. Novak’s other onscreen credits include shows like “The Newsroom,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” and “Community” as well as films like “Inglorious Basterds,” “Reign Over Me,” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.”

He is repped by CAA, Price Management, and Ziffren Brittenham.