Hulu orders pilot of Southern Bastards based on graphic novel

Hulu has ordered a pilot for a new drama series titled Southern Bastards, based on the graphic novel series by Jason Aaron and Jason Latour. The project comes from writers and executive producers Bill Dubuque (Ozark) and Nia DaCosta (The Marvels). Matt Olmstead (Chicago PD, Law & Order: Organized Crime) will serve as showrunner and also as an executive producer.

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The storyline of Southern Bastards follows a determined military veteran who travels to Craw County, Alabama, in search of her estranged father. However, she uncovers a dangerous web of organized crime led by the most successful high school American football coach in the South — a man both loved and feared.

The original graphic novel was released in 2014 by Image Comics and was praised for its raw depiction of small-town Alabama, where residents are equally passionate about barbecue, high school American football, and crime.

Bill Dubuque is known as the co-creator of Ozark (Netflix), which won multiple Emmy Awards. He also wrote The Judge (starring Robert Downey Jr.), A Family Man (starring Gerard Butler and Willem Dafoe), The Accountant, and the upcoming sequel The Accountant 2. Recently, he served as an executive producer for the new Peacock series M.I.A., a crime drama set in South Florida.

Nia DaCosta, who made a name for herself as the writer and director of Candyman and The Marvels, recently wrote and produced Hedda starring Tessa Thompson. She is currently directing 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which hits theaters on January 16.

Matt Olmstead is the co-creator of the successful OneChicago series Chicago PD and Chicago Med for NBC, and he previously worked as a showrunner on Prison Break, NYPD Blue, Chicago Fire, and FBI: International. His most recent project is the upcoming Hulu series Furious, where he also serves as an executive producer.