Over the course of creating some of the most critically-acclaimed television of the past two decades—Homicide, The Corner, The Wire, Generation Kill, Treme — David Simon has written for a murderer’s row of acting talent, including Andre Braugher, Idris Elba, Melissa Leo, Michael K. Williams, and Steve Zahn. Simon can now proudly add to that list Jim—sorry, James—Belushi, whose distinguished career as a thespian has led him to a role in Simon’s forthcoming HBO miniseries, Show Me A Hero.
The series, about a real-life effort to build low-income housing in Yonkers, NY, and the enusing political blowback, looks to have all of Simon’s favorite themes: urban decay, race relations, and the near-impossibility of making things better without suffering for it. Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) stars as the town’s young, idealistic mayor; Belushi will play his predecessor, a six-term mayor who lost his seat after agreeing to abide by a judge’s order to build the housing. Catherine Keener also stars as a Yonkers homeowner.