First announced in 2021, “The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon” has tapped as showrunners “Transparent” team Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster. The Writers Guild Award nominees, both for “Transparent” and Adapted Screenplay for feature “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” will take on the 1994 trial of WWE CEO Vince McMahon, who was accused of supplying steroids to WWE talent. “Vince McMahon is a living legend. We are thrilled to tell his larger-than-life story with our partners at Blumhouse and WWE,” Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster said in a press statement.
Chris McCumber, president of Blumhouse Television, added, “Blumhouse is thrilled to be partnering with Noah and Micah on this project. Their ability to bring iconic characters to life in a nuanced, dramatic, and fully realized way is the reason they are the perfect fit to tell the story of ‘The United States Vs. Vince McMahon.’”
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The limited series will be executive produced by the real-life McMahon, as well as McCumber, Kevin Dunn, Jason Blum, and Jeremy Gold. “The United States Vs. Vince McMahon” is the first-ever scripted dramatic portrayal of a chapter in WWE’s history; WWE is co-producing the series along with Blumhouse.
Set in the 1990s, the series follows WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon while he was repeatedly censured by infamous New York Post writer Phil Mushnick, whose columns eventually drew the attention of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York — the nation’s most prestigious federal prosecutor’s office with a conviction rate of over 96 percent, per an official synopsis.
McMahon was later indicted by the U.S. government for allegedly supplying anabolic steroids to WWE talent, stood trial after refusing to take a plea, and was unanimously acquitted by the jury. Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Rick Rude, Big John Studd, Tom Zenk, Tull Blanchard, and more wrestlers famously took the stand.
Co-showrunners Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster also have upcoming limited series “Painkiller” for Netflix, starring Matthew Broderick and Uzo Aduba in a show about the beginning of the opioid crisis.
Bradley Cooper was previously set to portray McMahon for the biopic “Pandemonium.” The project appears to be in limbo. A four-part Netflix documentary directed by Chris Smith is also in the works as of 2020.
“The United States Vs. Vince McMahon” has not yet set a production start date.
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