The “Florida Man” headlines are coming to the small screen. Luke Kirby and Tiana Okoye will star in Panhandle for Spectrum Originals and Roku, Spectrum Originals announced Tuesday.
The dramedy is set in the Florida panhandle and is described as “a love letter to the sunshine state” from creators Nick Stoll (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors) — a Florida native — and Carla Kettner (Bones, The Blacklist).
“Panhandle pairs an eccentric, agoraphobic arm-chair detective with a reluctant traffic cop in a series that showcases community, connection, and yes, only-in-Florida characters,” a statement announcing the series said. “Together, ‘Bell Prescott’ (Kirby) and ‘Cammie Lorde’ (Okoye) wrestle with personal demons, shocking twists, and a few Florida gators on their journey to heal themselves and their town.”
Kirby is known for playing Lenny Bruce in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Okoye has appeared in The Good Place and Awkwafina is Nora from Queens. She’ll soon appear in the upcoming romantic comedy The Valet.
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Stoll and Kettner will write and executive produce the series.
“We’re so excited to tell a dark, weird funny story that explores Florida in all its dark, weird funny glory,” they said.
Liz Varner, Head of Programming for Spectrum Originals, added, “Nick and Carla are an electric team who have crafted a story that is a love letter to the sunshine state while capturing all that is twisted, emotional, and sublime about Florida. We’re thrilled to have Colin Bucksey, Luke Kirby, and Tiana Okoye signing on to bring this special project to life.”
Bucksey (The Great, Breaking Bad, Fargo) will direct the pilot episode of the eight-episode series, produced by Sony Pictures Television Studios. Conor Welch (Goosebumps) will also executive produce.
“When Nick and Carla told us they wanted to work together, we knew they would create something very special,” Jeff Frost, President, Sony Pictures Television Studios and Jason Clodfelter, Co-President, Sony Pictures Television Studios said. “They have combined the best of comedy with the best of procedural storytelling and have created a fun and colorful dramedy. We look forward to seeing Luke and Tiana bring the story to screen.”
Panhandle will stream exclusively on Spectrum for nine months for free with no ads. It will then become an exclusive free advertising-supported window on The Roku Channel as a Roku original.
“We are also very excited about this innovative novel partnership as we continue our incredible relationship with Spectrum and expand it through our new collective collaboration with Roku, further augmenting the audience for the series,” Frost and Clodfelter’s statement continued.
Other Spectrum Originals include Angela Black, Temple, and Eden.
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