With a title that doubles as a metaphor for his current leading-man status (it tends to happen when you haven’t starred in a movie for three years), HBO has announced that Jack Black’s comedy series The Brink will debut in summer 2015.
Black, along with Tim Robbins, Pablo Schreiber, and a solid supporting cast, will be telling a 10-episode story that definitely seems to emphasize the “dark” in “dark comedy”:
When a rogue general seizes control of Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal, the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of three improbable Americans: Secretary of State Walter Larson (Robbins), lowly Foreign Service officer Alex Talbot (Black) and ace Navy fighter pilot Zeke Tilson (Schreiber). From the turbulent streets of the Middle East, to the White House Situation Room, to an aircraft carrier on the Red Sea, these three compromised souls must pull through the chaos around them to save the planet from World War Three.
In some ways, the series—created by Roberto and Kim Benabib—actually offers something of a reunion for Black and Robbins, as the former started out in the latter‘s Los Angeles theater group, The Actors’ Gang, and the two have collaborated on several projects since. Beyond “Summer,” HBO has yet to set a definite release date for The Brink.