Netflix doubles down on Jason Bateman, picks up Ozark

By Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya  |  February 25, 2016 | 9:39pm
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As we reported in September, Jason Bateman set out to direct and star in his very own crime drama called Ozark, produced through Aggregate and MRC, the studio behind House Of Cards. Deadline now reports that, after two months of negotiations, Netflix has picked up Ozark. Bateman recently took a break from his usual sitcom straight-man and feature comedy leading-man duties to do something a little darker in the thriller The Gift. As a crime drama about the dangerous world of drugs and money-laundering in Missouri, Ozark continues that little journey into the dark side for Bateman.

Ozark was created by Bill Dubuque, who wrote 2014’s The Judge and the similarly titled upcoming film The Accountant, starring Anna Kendrick, Ben Affleck, and John Lithgow. Ozark is Dubuque’s first television project, but Chris Mundy has been brought on as the Netflix series’ showrunner. Mundy has had his fair share of crime drama experience, serving as a producer on Low Winter Sun, Hell On Wheels, and Criminal Minds. The show is slated to begin production this spring.

Deadline also notes that Bateman will maintain a lot of creative control as the project’s director and executive producer. Never one to slow down, he made his feature directorial debut with Bad Words in 2013, and his follow-up, The Family Fang, in which he co-stars with Nicole Kidman, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. His “untitled FBI wedding comedy” is still in development, but he’s keeping busy with voice work. And yet, being in multiple movies a year isn’t enough for Bateman, who is subtly trying to become omnipresent by starring in a second Netflix series. He just wants to have it all.

 
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