Former “The Office” star, executive producer and writer Paul Lieberstein says he’s going back to what he knows with his new AMC show, “Lucky Hank.”
Based on Richard Russo’s novel “Straight Man,” “Lucky Hank” stars Bob Odenkirk as the titular character, the unlikely chair of the English department at a woefully underfunded college in Pennsylvania.
“I was really interested in the world,” Lieberstein said Tuesday at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, “and I was looking to develop something at the university. And part of that came from this idea of ’The Office,’ Only with smart people. And they’re all kinds of people you know.
AMC describes “Lucky Hank” as “the story of a mid-life crisis at Railton College”. Lieberstein said that the tenure aspect, in which a professor earns a permanent position at a university, was particularly good source material.
“I love this idea of tenure, the kind where you’re steeped in success,” he said. “It allows people to behave really badly.”
“Lucky Hank” also stars “The Killing” star Mireille Enos and will guest star Kyle McLachlan, Oscar Nuñez, Chris Diamantopoulos and Tom Bower. It premieres Sunday, March 19 on AMC and AMC+.
