‘The Loudest Voice’ Showrunner Alex Metcalf Inks TV & Film Overall Deal With Blumhouse, Talks About Series’ Resonance In 2020 Election Cycle

Nellie Andreeva
·4 min read

Click here to read the full article.

EXCLUSIVE: The Loudest Voice showrunner Alex Metcalf is staying in business with Blumhouse, signing an exclusive overall deal for television and film with the studio behind the Showtime limited series. Under the pact, Metcalf will write, develop and produce film and TV projects for Jason Blum’s independent studio.

Metcalf developed The Loudest Voice, based on Gabriel Sherman’s book The Loudest Voice in the Room, for television and served as executive producer and showrunner. The limited series earned Russell Crowe a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Fox News Channel founder Roger Ailes, along with a SAG nomination. It is currently in Emmy contention.

More from Deadline

Focusing primarily on the past decade, The Loudest Voice touches on defining events in Ailes’ life and the sexual harassment accusations and settlements that brought his Fox News reign to an end.

“It’s a Shakespearean tale of a larger-than-life figure whose inner needs, secret desires and paranoid insecurities changed the national political discourse in our country forever. Who wouldn’t want to tell that story?” Metcalf said about his response when Blumhouse approached him about the project. “Love him or hate him, with the creation of Fox News, Roger set the stage for the stark political divides that are currently tearing our country apart.”

This is one of reasons the story in The Loudest Voice “resonates even more powerfully now,” in the first presidential cycle without Ailes, according to Metcalf.

“While Roger and Fox were instrumental in supporting Trump’s original drive to the presidency, Fox is now the single most important news source for the president, often directly driving policy,” Metcalf said. “Roger always wanted to control the narrative, and now, after his death, Fox has succeeded in exactly that.”

Blumhouse also collaborated with Metcalf on the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated HBO limited series Sharp Objects, starring Amy Adams.

“Time and time again we’ve been blown away by Alex’s unique ability to adapt true stories into narrative – to create within the real world. Following our collaborations on Sharp Objects and The Loudest Voice, we knew that establishing a more expansive relationship was the obvious and necessary next move,” Blumhouse Television co-presidents Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold said.

Metcalf and Gold first worked together on the 2014 DirecTV drama Kingdom. Metcalf was a writer-producer on the series, which came from Endemol Studios where Gold was head of creative affairs.

“It was clear then that it was just the beginning of a long professional relationship,” Gold said.

Metcalf is a three-time WGA nominee, most recently for The Loudest Voice. In addition to Sharp Objects, on which he served as consulting producer, and Kingdom, his television work includes stints on Mindhunter for Netflix and UnReal for Lifetime.

“I can’t imagine a better place to call home than Blumhouse,” Metcalf said. “Jason, Marci and Jeremy have created a culture of creative risk and commercial success, encouraging unique stories and voices to be heard. I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Metcalf’s pact marks the first overall deal announcement from Blumhouse. The company had previously announced first-look deals with Gigi Saul Guerrero, Sophia Takal, Aaron Mark, Leigh Whannell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Striker Entertainment.

The Loudest Voice is available on Showtime Anytime and began re-running on the network on June 23. The next episode airs July 7.

Metcalf is repped by Ziffren Brittenham and managed by Grandview.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.