Rob Delaney Joins Chiwetel Ejiofor in Showtime’s ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’

Rob Delaney, of “Catrastrophe” and Twitter fame, will co-star with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris in Showtime’s forthcoming drama series “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”

The project is based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel, as well as Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 film in which David Bowie played Dr. Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien from another planet who lands in New Mexico. Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet are writing and executive producing the new version, and will serve as showrunners with executive producer John Hlavin. Kurtzman is also directing multiple episodes.

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Delaney will play the character of Hatch Flood, the screw-up scion of a tech family who becomes enmeshed in the life of the alien character (Ejiofor), AKA the man who fell to Earth. Hatch’s “obsession with the work of a previous visitor from the stars causes him to lose everything, including his family.”

Delaney starred in “Catastrophe,” and co-created the show with Sharon Horgan. The show ran for four seasons on Channel 4 in the UK and on Amazon in ths U.S. For “Catastrophe,” Delaney received an Emmy nomination for writing and two BAFTA nominations for best scripted comedy. He is repped by UTA, Avalon Management and Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver Thompson.

In addition to Ejiofor and Harris, Delaney is joining the previously announced cast of Clarke Peters and Jimmi Simpson. Production on “The Man Who Fell to Earth” will start in London this spring and will premiere on Showtime next year.

Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Heather Kadin are also executive producing, as are Rola Bauer and Françoise Guyonnet of StudioCanal, which owns the rights for both Walter Tevis’ book as well as the Nicolas Roeg film with David Bowie. “The Man Who Fell to Earth” is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Timberman/Beverly.

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