Weinstein TV’s limited series “Waco,” starring Michael Shannon and Taylor Kitsch, has landed at Spike, the company announced Wednesday.
Based on the 1993 FBI siege of the Branch Davidian religious sect in Waco, Texas, the series will be six episodes and starts filming in the spring.
“We couldn’t think of a better home to bring ‘Waco’ to audiences than Spike TV,” said David Glasser, Weinstein Company president and COO, in a statement. “They are great collaborators dedicated to groundbreaking content, and we are excited to share the riveting stories behind this harrowing event. We look forward to many more partnerships with them in the future.”
Shannon (“Boardwalk Empire”) is set to play lead FBI negotiator Gary Noesner, while Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights,” “True Detective”) will assume the role of David Koresh, the notorious leader of the religious group whose stand-off with federal authorities led to a fire that killed almost 80 people.
John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle, who co-wrote the 2015 Pierce Brosnan thriller “No Escape” for The Weinstein Company, will write the series, with John Erick Dowdle directing (as he did on “No Escape”).
Shannon, Kitsch and the Dowdle brothers will executive produce the series.
The drama is largely based on two books about the incident, Noesner’s “Sinful Messiah” and “A Place Called Waco,” by Branch Davidian David Thibodeau, who was one of nine survivors of the fatal fire.