Tyrant tells the story of an unassuming American family drawn into the workings of a turbutlent Middle Eastern nation. Bassam "Barry" al Fayeed, the younger son of the dictator of a war-torn nation, ends a self-imposed 20-year exile to return to his homeland, accompanied by his American wife and children, for his nephew's wedding. Barry's reluctant homecoming leads to a dramatic clash of cultures as he is thrown back into the familial and national politics of his youth.
The drama, from Fox 21 and FX Productions, stars Adam Rayner, Jennifer Finnigan, Ashraf Barhom, Moran Atias, Noah Silver, Anne Winters, Fares Fares, Salim Daw, Justin Kirk, Jordana Spiro, Mehdi Dehbi and Alice Krige. Production will begin in March 2014 in Tel Aviv after the pilot was shot in Morocco.
"With Tyrant, Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff and Craig Wright have produced a beautiful television pilot that will be a groundbreaking television series," said John Landgraf, CEO, FX Networks. "Tyrant introduces characters and a world that have never been explored in a dramatic television series format. There is a reason a bidding war broke out over this project: it grabs you as all great epics do and simply refuses to let go!"
"This project embodies our studio's guiding principle: get into business with incredible talent and challenge them to swing for the fences," 20th Television chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman added in a joint statement. "Howard, Gideon and Craig, together with our fantastic team at Fox 21, have delivered a remarkable pilot. This is one of the most ambitious series we've ever set out to make and we couldn't be more grateful to John and everyone at FX who believed in its potential since the very first pitch."
