Deadline reports that Alec Baldwin is returning to TV for his first major role since "30 Rock." He will play Joe Byrne, a "billionaire real estate developer philanthropist, and celebrated socialite/tabloid fixture," who unexpectedly becomes Mayor after a sudden tragedy strikes the incumbent. The hourlong drama was picked up by HBO after a long bidding war, and Baldwin will serve as executive producer for the series, which is to be written by acclaimed short story and non-fiction writer Wells Tower.
Per Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr., the series will be dark, but not quite as dark as "House Of Cards," with the ideal tone matching "the lightest and most entertaining episodes of The Sopranos." Baldwin, meanwhile, described his character as “Trump without the baggage, Bloomberg but a Democrat, George Soros if he was in real estate, a left-leaning Democrat who is also a businessman who understands the reality of how the city has to be run to create the right climate for the business community."
The all sounds like quite a natural fit for Baldwin: Aside from the obvious similarities to his Jack Donaghy character on “30 Rock,” Baldwin -- a tabloid figure in his own right, lest we forget -- has spoken of his political ambitions in the past, telling the New York Times back in 2011 that he planned to run for Mayor one day. Call this a dry run?
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