Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: books, cable, HBO, J.J. Abrams, jordan peele, joss whedon, kevin lau, Lovecraft Country, novels, streaming, television, the nevers, tv

HBO Signs Kevin Lau (The Nevers, Lovecraft Country) to Overall Deal

Published Fri, 26 Apr 2019 17:35:43 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Writer-director Kevin Lau has found himself involved in two major upcoming HBO projects – and now he's found himself in an overall deal with the cable giant. Not only is Lau a staff writer on Joss Whedon's (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers) epic science fiction drama series The Nevers, but he's also written for Jordan Peele (Get Out) and J.J. Abrams' (Star Trek) upcoming drama series Lovecraft Country. Lau's previous experience with HBO was through the company's HBO Access Fellowship program, where he directed the pilot for F**ked Up.

HBO Signs Kevin Lau (The Nevers, Lovecraft Country) to Overall Deal — Kat Wilson/HBO

Whedon is set to write (alongside Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie), direct, executive produce (along with Espenson, Petrie, and Bernie Caulfield), and serve as showrunner on The Nevers, which stars Outlander's Laura Donnelly and focuses on a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies, and a mission that might change the world.

Adapted from Matt Ruff's novel of the same name and stemming from Academy Award winner Peele's Monkeypaw Productions, Abrams's Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television, Lovecraft Country introduces us to 25-year-old Koren war vet Atticus Black (Jonathan Majors), who joins up with his friend Letitia "Leti" Dandridge (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip to find his missing father. Atticus, known for always having a pulp novel in his back pocket, wears his heart on his sleeve despite the daily injustice of living in 1950s Jim Crow America. The trio must survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the malevolent spirits that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.

HBO's Lovecraft Country also stars Aunjanue Ellis (Quantico), Elizabeth Debicki (The Tale), and Wunmi Mosaku (Luther). Yann Demange(Top Boy) will direct and executive produce the first episode; with Underground's Misha Green writing the pilot and serving as showrunner, and executive producing alongside Peele, Abrams, and Ben Stephenson.