Well, if you’re making a comedy you want us to see sight unseen, this is a pretty good way to do it. Line up an acclaimed actor, usually known for his dramatic work, but who has hidden comic chops and pair him with an underrated but consistently strong and hilarious actress and you’ll have our curiosity. When those people are Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kathryn Hahn, well sir, you have our attention.
The duo are coming aboard Showtime‘s “Trending Down,” which is gearing up to shoot a pilot. The project comes from author and “This American Life“ contributor Shalom Auslander, Ken Kwapis (veteran of “The Office“) and Alexandra Beattie and it will find Hoffman playing a man working at an ad agency, whose services may no longer be required when the company gets taken over. Hahn will play his wife and the show will be “a blistering attack on our youth-obsessed culture and a darkly comic examination of what it means to matter” (or not).
It’s a great premise with two people we’re big fans of, and if it means getting a dose of Hoffman and Hahn on a weekly basis on cable for a few months per year, sign us up. An official announcement arrives next week when we’ll learn more details about when it might shoot, but fingers crossed this makes it past the pilot stage. [THR]