As part of its move to ramp up production for its upcoming series starring Bob Odenkirk in its lead role, AMC Networks has announced that its series adaptation of the 1997 novel Straight Man written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo has undergone a name change. Originally also titled Straight Man, the series set to premiere in the spring of 2023 will be known as Lucky Hank per TVLine.
Lucky Hank will see Odenkirk portray William Henry Devereaux, Jr., whose story will be told in the first person. The series will tell the story of an "unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt," according to the network. The series will focus on how Devereaux, while going through a mid-life crisis, tries to make the home front work while also striving to keep Railton College functional and above water.
COLLIDER VIDEO OF THE DAY Lucky Hank is yet another project that sees Odenkirk and AMC reunited. The actor played the title role on Better Call Saul for six seasons and his role as the charismatic yet shady lawyer Saul Goodman stretches back to another AMC series, Breaking Bad. Lucky Hank will mark Odenkirk’s third series with the network.