Jesse Eisenberg teams up with A24 and Peter Rice for new television series

Jesse Eisenberg (‘The Social Network’) is embarking on a new television series at A24 with Peter Rice (former Disney executive) as an executive producer, Deadline reports. Eisenberg will executive produce and direct the untitled project. The source material comes from one of his short stories and follows a young woman whose beliefs are challenged by new ideas and relationships. It is expected to reach potential buyers within weeks as part of Eisenberg’s A24 deal. Rice, however, is unlikely to be actively involved because of his new job at Netflix, although he is expected to retain his executive producer credit. The title, cast, and release date have yet to be revealed.

Meanwhile, Eisenberg had spoken about the project in July, when he received an honorary President’s Award at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Screen Daily reports Eisenberg saying that he was writing a series with Rice based on a short story he wrote five years ago. Moreover, Rice produces Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Social Reckoning,’ the stand-alone sequel to ‘The Social Network.’ Eisenberg opted out of returning as Mark Zuckerberg because he did not want to be forever associated with the Facebook founder.

Television is not new territory for Eisenberg, whose debut was on the series ‘Get Real’ that ran from 1999 to 2000. In 2015, he published the short story collection ‘Bream Gives Me Hiccups’ with Grove Press, alongside a TV adaptation starring Parker Posey and Victor Rasuk. In addition, he developed ‘The Market,’ a single-camera comedy for J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Warner Bros. in which he was set to write, direct, and star. His latest small-screen role involved playing Toby Fleishman in the limited series ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ on FX that aired in 2022.

Eisenberg has an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for ‘The Social Network.’ He also has a Best Original Screenplay nomination for ‘A Real Pain,’ which he wrote, directed, and starred in, with Kieran Culkin. His third feature as a director, ‘The Debut,’ stars Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti and is set in 1990. It follows a housewife who is unexpectedly cast in a community theatre production. A24 releases the film in the US on December 11.