Brian Tyree Henry finally gets what he deserves: A lead role in a television series

As Atlanta begins to wind down ahead of its fourth and final season, Brian Tyree Henry will move on to a top billing role in Apple TV drama series Sinking Spring. The eight-episode drug ring show will be helmed by Ridley Scott, a rare move for the prolific film director.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Sinking Spring “revolves around longtime Philly friends and delinquents who pose as DEA agents to rob an unknown house in the countryside, only to have their small-time grift become a life-and-death enterprise, as they unwittingly reveal and unravel the biggest hidden narcotics corridor on the Eastern seaboard.”

Scott will direct Sinking Spring under his first-look deal with the streamer. Top Gun: Maverick’s Peter Craig has written the script based on Dennis Tafoya’s novel Dope Thief. The scribe’s working history also includes Matt Reeves’ The Batman, The Town, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 1 & 2. The Apple TV series will be Craig’s first foray into writing for television, and he’s signed on to direct one episode as well. As soon-to-be frequent collaborators, Scott and Craig are also currently working on the sequel Gladiator 2.

Like any good actor, Henry started his acting career with a small one-time role on Law & Order. He would eventually make his breakthrough in 2016 with the role of Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles on Donald Glover’s Atlanta, for which he received an Emmy nomination in 2018.

Since then, he’s appeared in supporting roles in Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse, and most recently the Brad Pitt vehicle Bullet Train. Sinking Spring marks Henry’s second Apple collaboration, as he’s set to appear in the film Causeway opposite Jennifer Lawrence.