Bill Hader Developing Jonestown Series for HBO — May Star as Cult Leader Jim Jones

Bill Hader is heading into chilling new territory.

The Emmy-winning Barry creator is co-writing and developing a limited series for HBO centered around the infamous Jonestown tragedy — and he may star as cult leader Jim Jones. The project, still in early development, will see Hader team up with Damages and Bloodline co-creator Daniel Zelman. Both will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers, with Hader also attached to direct should the series move forward.

If Hader takes on the role of Jim Jones, it would mark a striking departure from his past performances, plunging him into one of the darkest chapters of modern American history.

Jonestown remains one of the most disturbing true stories of the 20th century. Jones, who founded the Peoples Temple in the 1950s, led his followers to the South American country of Guyana in the 1970s to establish what he called a utopia. Instead, it became the site of a mass murder-suicide that left over 900 people dead — including children — in November 1978. The incident, which involved forced cyanide ingestion and armed coercion, shocked the world and introduced the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” into the American lexicon.

This marks the second time HBO has explored a scripted adaptation of the Jonestown story. A separate series from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan was in the works in 2016 but was eventually scrapped. The new Hader-led project is not connected to that version.

Though the subject matter is grim, HBO has found success in dark, prestige-laden storytelling, and Hader has proven his range not just in comedy but in psychological drama. His work on Barry — in which he starred, directed, wrote, and produced — earned him multiple Emmys and critical acclaim for blending absurdist humor with unnerving emotional depth.

Daniel Zelman brings significant experience with character-driven tension, having co-created the legal thriller Damages and served as a producer on Succession. Together, he and Hader are crafting a series expected to tackle not just the horrific events at Jonestown, but the psychological manipulation and mass control that led up to it.

As true-crime adaptations continue to dominate streaming, the Jonestown series will likely generate heavy attention — especially with Hader at the helm. And while the full cast and release date remain unannounced, development is underway.