HBO is developing a series starring Bill Hader about cult leader Jim Jones

HBO is developing a series about cult leader Jim Jones starring Barry actor Bill Hader. Reverend Jim Jones is the charismatic cult leader behind the 1978 mass murder and suicide at the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project (also known as Jonestown) in the Guyanese jungle. HBO now has a television series in development. The project comes from Bill Hader, who is also considered a possible lead, and Daniel Zelman.



Hader (pictured) and Zelman will co-write the script and serve as co-showrunners. Hader will also direct if the project moves forward.

According to the description, the project will tell the story of Jones and his people.

Jonestown gained international notoriety in November 1978 when Jones orchestrated a mass murder-suicide of more than 900 members of his Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. Most of the deaths were caused by cyanide-laced fruit punch, with some forced to ingest the poison while others were injected.

The poisonings followed the assassination of U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan by Temple members in Port Kaituma, on Jones’ orders. Four other members committed murder-suicides in Georgetown, Guyana, on Jones’ orders. Jones had led his followers from the U.S. to Guyana, promising them a utopian community, but his leadership became increasingly paranoid and controlling.

Over the years, the tragedy has been depicted in various media outlets, including the 2007 History Channel documentary Jonestown: Paradise Lost , the 2006 documentary film Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple , the 1979 film Guyana: Cult of the Damned , based on the Jonestown tragedy, and Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones , a 1980 CBS miniseries based on the life of Jones and the Peoples Temple.

Hader recently wrapped the four-season HBO series Barry , which he co-created and stars in. He received 16 Emmy nominations for his work on the series, including four shared nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.