You can take the kid out of Boston, but you can’t take Boston out of the kid. No matter where his career goes, it seems Ben Affleck will always be drawn to stories set in the city where he was raised. His next directorial effort, “Live By Night,” will tackle the Prohibition era in Beantown, and even though his dance card is filling up with roles in David Fincher‘s “Gone Girl” and a tiny, indie no has heard of called “Superman Vs. Batman,” Affleck isn’t slowing down a moment and is taking a look at a small screen project.
Affleck is slated to executive produce and direct the pilot for the crime drama “The Middle Man,” which is set, you guessed it, in Boston. Taking place during the 1960s, the show will follow FBI agent Rudy MacAteer, who aims to bring down the Italian mafia. The project is set up over at Fox, with a pilot already ordered, and while television is new for Affleck, this isn’t the first time he’s circled a series. During press rounds for “Argo” last year, Affleck revealed he was actually lined up to helm an episode of “Homeland,” but scheduling conflicts with wife Jennifer Garner—with whom he has a deal where one parent is always at home with the kids, while the other works—caused him to drop out.
But with a producer’s credit on this, Affleck clearly has a bit more invested in this show from the ground up, and so we’ll see if it will be one we add into our rotation should it make it to series. [Variety]