Robert De Niro cast in Paramount+ crime series Bobby Meritorious

Robert De Niro is attached to star in a Billy Ray-written crime drama series in the works at Paramount+. Two-time Oscar winner De Niro will direct Bobby Meritorious, an original series coming from Paramount Television Studios. Preet Bharara, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017, is one of the executors.

Paramount made a commitment to develop the project after winning a competitive situation.



It's De Niro's (pictured) second television project in a few weeks, after Eric Newman's conspiracy thriller Zero Day got a limited series on Netflix.

The series Bobby Meritorious is set in the middle of an American law firm in one of the southern neighborhoods of New York. A sovereign kingdom with seemingly unlimited power and scope. But now there's an informant in the law firm's biggest case. Avery 'The Sage' Accomando, played by De Niro, is ready to tear up this legendary institution. Only one man can stop him, a legendary ex-cop affectionately known as Bobby Meritorious. The battle between these two giants is a fight for justice itself.

Ray will write and produce. In television, Billy Ray is best known for writing and directing Showtime's The Comey Rule under the direction of Jeff Daniels, based on James Comey's A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership. He also wrote and directed The Last Tycoon. On the movie side, Ray is the writer behind Richard Jewell, Captain Phillips, and The Hunger Games.

De Niro will also produce alongside his production partner Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh, who works at Tribeca Productions. Peter Gethers will also be producing alongside Preet Bharara.

Earlier this month, Netflix ordered Zero Day, which will be De Niro's first television role. Directed by Leslie Linka Glatter, the series, from Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim and Michael S. Schmidt, asks how we can find the truth in a world in crisis, a world seemingly torn apart by forces beyond our control.

Nominated for seven Academy Awards, De Niro has won two. One as Best Actor for Raging Bull and one as Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather Part II. He also received several Emmy nominations, including Best Actor for his role as Bernie Madoff in HBO's Wizard of Lies.