Eddie Murphy Set for His First Scripted TV Series Lead in Peacock’s The Chairman From Mad Men Creator Matthew Weiner

Eddie Murphy is moving into scripted television for the first time in his four decade career, attached to star in and executive produce The Chairman, a new drama in development at Peacock from Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner.

A Mad Men Mastermind’s Next Project

Weiner, who wrote for The Sopranos before creating Mad Men and later Amazon’s anthology series The Romanoffs in 2018, created The Chairman and will write and executive produce it alongside Murphy. Peacock has not yet given the drama an official greenlight, and no plot details or additional cast members have been revealed. The series comes from 101 Studios and Universal Television, marking the first project to come out of 101 Studios’ first look deal with NBCUniversal, which began in January.

Matthew Weiner, the Mad Men and Sopranos writer who created The Chairman, will write and executive produce the series alongside Murphy.

Four Decades, No Series Lead

Murphy’s only prior regular television role was on Saturday Night Live, which he left in 1984 after launching his film career with 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. He went on to create the animated sitcoms The PJs and The Royal Family in the 1990s without starring in either, and has otherwise built a career almost entirely around film comedies and more recent dramatic turns like Dolemite Is My Name. The Chairman would give him his first ever lead role in a live action scripted series.

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Picture Source: David Shankbone (Public Domain), David Shankbone (CC BY 3.0)