Spectrum Originals has ordered the dramedy series “Panhandle” starring Luke Kirby and Tiana Okoye, Variety has learned.
Set in the Florida panhandle, the series follows agoraphobic arm-chair detective Bell Prescott (Kirby) and reluctant traffic cop Cammie Lorde (Okoye) as they wrestle with personal demons, shocking twists, and a few Florida gators on their journey to heal themselves and their town.
Spectrum has ordered an eight-episode first season of the series, which will shoot in Savannah, GA. It will have a nine month exclusive ad-free run on Spectrum before an ad-supported second window on The Roku Channel.
Nicholas Stoller and Carla Kettner created the series and will serve as executive producers. Conor Welch also serves as an executive producer. Colin Bucksey will direct the pilot. Sony Pictures Television is the studio behind the series.
“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,” said Liz Varner, head of programming for Spectrum Originals. “We’re thrilled to have Colin Bucksey, Luke Kirby and Tiana Okoye signing on to bring this special project to life.”
Kirby won the Emmy for best guest actor in a comedy series in 2019 for playing legendary comic Lenny Bruce in the hit Amazon series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” He was nominated in the same category again in 2020. His other recent TV roles include the reboot of “Gossip Girl” at HBO Max and “Rectify.” On the feature side, he has appeared in films like “Take This Waltz,” “Fury,” and “Glass.”
He is repped by Gersh and Gary Goddard Agency.
Okoye’s past TV credits include “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens,” “The Good Place,” “Silicon Valley,” and “Nancy Drew.” She is repped by UTA and Echo Lake Entertainment. Bucksey is repped by Verve and John Bauman Management.
“When Nick and Carla told us they wanted to work together, we knew they would create something very special,” said Jeff Frost and Jason Clodfelter, co-presidents of Sony Pictures Television. “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. 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.”