Colin Jost will star in new drama series on Peacock from “The Goldbergs” showrunner Alex Barnow.
The Universal Television production will follow the “SNL” star as Ivy League dentist turned cocaine drugpin Larry Lavin. The series will be based on the first season of the Audacy podcast “Wolves Among Us,” inspired by the shocking real-life story of a suburban dentist, who built a drug empire.
Lavin was sentenced to 22 years in prison on drug charges and an additional 20 years for tax evasion in 1986. The dentist will serve as an executive producer on the series.
While the series is slated as a drama, it will likely have comedic elements due to Jost and Barnow’s backgrounds.
The untitled project is still in development, but it will not conflict with Jost’s “Saturday Night Live” duties. Jost has been at the NBC sketch series for more than two decades, serving as co-head writer and most recently as “Weekend Update” co-anchor alongside Michael Che.
Barnow will write the series, serving as showrunner. He will also executive produce the series alongside Jost and Jeff Grosvenor of No Notes Productions through their overall deal with Universal Television. Rachel Kaplan of Absecon Entertainment, Lavin, Matt Davis and Steve Seidel serve as co-executive producers.
The showrunner most recently served as a consulting producer on Starz’s “Power: Origins” series and previously held a long-term overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. There he served as an executive producer and showrunner on “The Goldbergs.” Early on in his career he created and executive produced an ABC comedy starring Matthew Perry, “Mr. Sunshine.” Barnow is repped by UTA, Amplified Entertainment, and HJTH.
The drama series marks a departure from comedy for Jost. The series would also be Jost’s primetime television acting debut. He has previously appeared in comedy features, including “Staten Island Summer,” “How To Be Single,” “Tom & Jerry” and the upcoming film “The Breadwinner.” He also hosts “Pop Culture Jeopardy!” which is set to move to Netflix from Prime Video. Jost is repped by CAA and Levine Barnes.
