FX gives series order to 'Tyrant' from 'Homeland' producers

By Yvonne Villarreal

Dec. 11, 2013 12 AM PT

FX is heading to Tel Aviv with the new drama “Tyrant” from “Homeland” producers Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, giving the buzzy drama it fought to snag a series order.

Production on the drama is set to begin in Israel in March, with a rollout slated for the summer.

“Tyrant” is billed as “the story of an unassuming American family drawn into the working of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation.”

At the center of the series is Bassam “Barry” Al Fayeed, the younger son of the dictator of a war-torn nation. The character ends a self-imposed 20-year exile to return to his homeland for a family wedding, accompanied by his American wife and children. His return, expectedly, sparks a culture clash.

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“From the moment Gideon pitched me the idea, I felt that this was a tremendous opportunity to humanize and dramatize the faces behind the headlines that we read about every day,” Gordon said in a statement. “We’ll also get to explore the tension between power and family loyalty. I am grateful to Dana, Gary and Bert Salke for allowing me to develop this project in house, and I couldn’t be more excited finally to be working with John Landgraf and his amazing team at FX.”

“Tyrant,” which comes from Fox 21 and FX productions, was created by Raff and developed by Gordon and Craig Wright (“Six Feet Under”) — all will serve as executive producers. It landed at FX after a three-way cable bidding war.

Landgraf, chief executive of FX Networks and FX productions, boasted in his canned statement: “With ‘Tyrant,’ Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff and Craig Wright have produced a beautiful television pilot that will be a groundbreaking television series,” said Landgraf. “ ‘Tyrant’ introduces characters and a world that have never been explored in a dramatic television series format. There is a reason a bidding war broke out over this project: It grabs you as all great epics do and simply refuses to let go!”

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