Justin Timberlake is set to portray U.S. game show host and alleged CIA assassin Chuck Barris in a new Apple TV+ series.
The pop superstar-turned-actor will take on the lead role in the as-yet-untitled series, based on Barris’ wild 1984 memoir, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, in which he claimed to have become a TV personality, hosting The Gong Show and creating popular series like The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, as an elaborate cover for his real job as an undercover agent in the 1960s and ’70s.
CIA officials denied ever working with Barris, but the autobiography previously inspired the 2002 film of the same name, directed by George Clooney and starring Sam Rockwell.
Now Timberlake will be exploring the secret life of Barris for a new hour-long drama series, with the pilot penned by showrunner Jon Worley, according to Deadline.
The project was recently picked up at auction by Apple bosses, who previously worked with Timberlake on the recent Fisher Stevens drama Palmer.