Robert Redford, Jeremy Renner and Jake Gyllenhaal step behind the camera to produce upcoming TV series
The small screen has become something of a playground for Hollywood stars. While some try their luck in front of the camera, others prefer to step out of the limelight with a behind-the-scenes role in the producer's chair.
After a wave of well-known movie directors lent their skills to TV series (Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, The Wachowskis, Guillermo del Toro, David Fincher, and more), small-screen shows are now attracting big-name actors looking to try their hands at production.
Robert Redford, for example, has teamed up with HBO to develop a miniseries based on the novel "Burgess Boys" by Elisabeth Strout, whose "Olive Kitteridge" has already served as inspiration for the network. The book, published in 2013, follows the story of two brothers haunted by the terrible accident that killed their father when they were children. As the pair return to their native Maine, tensions from the past resurface.
Jeremy Renner ("Mission Impossible") has been signed up to work on a new project with History. "Knightfall" is a six-parter set around the Knights Templar, warriors of the Crusades accused of heresy and obscene acts. Scheduled to air at the end of 2016, the actor could even star in one of the show's roles.
Jake Gyllenhaal is producing an anthology series for A&E looking at famous cults. The first season will focus on Jim Jones, founder of the Peoples Temple religious movement, which saw 908 members die in a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978.
These aren't the first familiar faces from Hollywood to produce TV series. Tom Hanks notably collaborated with Steven Spielberg on HBO's "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific." In 2016, he will be teaming up with Brad Pitt to produce "Lewis and Clark", an HBO miniseries starring Casey Affleck and Matthias Schoenaerts.
