Robert De Niro is set to star in and executive produce “Mr. Natural,” a crime drama series in the works at Entertainment One, Variety has learned.
The project follows Louis “Mr. Natural” Baron (De Niro), who, fresh off a 30-year stint in federal prison, hits Palm Springs driven by a dream to reunite with his stolen family and a dangerous scheme to grab a taste of the Salton Sea’s lithium billions, per the logline for the potential series. There will be blood in the sand and bones in the desert. Palm Springs will never be the same.
Created by Mitch Glazer (“On the Rocks”), the project is envisioned as a multi-season series, with Glazer and De Niro executive producing alongside “Yellowstone’s” Art and John Linson.
eOne does not yet have a platform attached to “Mr. Natural,” but is expected to be taking it out to market soon.
“Mr. Natural” marks De Niro’s second TV series casting in as many months. In November, Variety reported he is set to star in Netflix’s limited series “Zero Day.” That project, which is also in the development stage, comes from Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim.
Should either project move forward with a series order, it would mark the first regular television role of De Niro.
One of the most iconic movie stars in Hollywood, De Niro won the Academy Award for best actor and best supporting actor for “Raging Bull” and “The Godfather Part II,” respectively. He has been nominated for seven acting Academy Awards in total, while he also shared in the best picture nomination for “The Irishman,” which he starred in and produced.
On the small-screen side, De Niro has received multiple Emmy nominations, including one for best actor in a TV movie or limited series for the HBO film “Wizard of Lies,” in which he played Bernie Madoff.