Jonestown Series From Bill Hader & Daniel Zelman In Development At HBO

A series about the Rev. Jim Jones, the charismatic cult leader behind the 1978 mass-murder suicide at the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project (aka Jonestown) in the Guyanese jungle, is in development at HBO, Deadline has confirmed. The project hails from Bill Hader, who also is being eyed to potentially star, and Daniel Zelman.

Hader and Zelman will co-write and serve as co-showrunners. Hader also will direct if the project moves forward.

According to the logline, the project tells the story of Jones and his people.

Jonestown became internationally infamous in November 1978 when Jones orchestrated a mass murder-suicide of more than 900 members of his Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. The majority of deaths were caused by cyanide-laced fruit punch, with some being forced to ingest the poison, while others were injected. The poisonings followed the murder of U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan by Temple members at Port Kaituma, ordered by Jones. Four other members committed murder-suicide in Georgetown, Guyana at Jones’ command. Jones had led his followers to Guyana from the U.S., promising them a utopian community, but his leadership became increasingly paranoid and controlling. 

Over the years, there have been several media depictions of the tragedy, including the 2007 History Channel documentary Jonestown: Paradise Lost, 2006 documentary film Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, the 1979 film Guyana: Cult of the Damned, based on the Jonestown tragedy and Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones, a 1980 CBS miniseries based on the life of Jones and the Peoples Temple.

Hader most recently wrapped a four-season run on HBO’s Barry, which he co-created and starred in. He received 16 Emmy nominations for his work on the show, including four shared nominations in the Best Comedy Series category.

Variety was first to report the news.