Superhero Satire Series from Sam Mendes Ordered by HBO

New series, The Franchise, from Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci, has been ordered by HBO.

With the pilot directed by Mendes and written by showrunner Jon Brown, the official synopsis is: The crew of an unloved franchise movie fight for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. The Franchise shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every fuck-up has an origin story.

Exec VP of HBO Programming has said, "With a deft touch only he can bring, Sam has brilliantly captured the romance and the reality of filmmaking today. Jon is superb at sending up worlds we think we already know. Together, with Armando, they have delivered a truly hilarious comedy ensemble. I can't wait to see more".

The cast includes the likes of Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl.

The pilot was completed before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, so production on the series will not get fully underway until after the strike.