‘The Debut’ Star Jesse Eisenberg Reveals His Next Project Is a TV Series About the Start of the Culture Wars

Jesse Eisenberg has spent the last few years reinventing himself. The actor best known for playing Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’ has become a filmmaker with a distinct voice, writing, directing and starring in his own stories. Now he is turning that voice toward a new format.

His screen career began on television in 1999 with the Fox series ‘Get Real’, before he moved almost entirely into film. He returned to the small screen in 2022 with the FX limited series ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’. An earlier attempt to adapt his short-story collection ‘Bream Gives Me Hiccups’ for television, with Amazon and A24, did not move forward.

Eisenberg has now confirmed what comes next, and it is another television series. He shared the news at the London Film Festival premiere of his latest film, ‘The Debut’, which closed the festival. He told The Hollywood Reporter that the show follows an 18-year-old girl in the fall of 2002, adding, “It’s about the beginning of the culture wars that we’re in now.”

He added a typically self-deprecating caveat, saying it is not pretentious or overly political, or maybe it is, and that audiences can decide. He said he wrote the series for A24 and former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice. Reports say he has written six episodes.

The untitled show is based on one of Eisenberg’s short stories. According to Deadline, it follows a young woman whose beliefs are challenged by new ideas and relationships. Eisenberg will write and executive produce, and he is set to direct.

That makes it his first television series as a writer, director and producer. A24 is expected to take the project out to buyers in the coming weeks, so no network or streamer is attached yet. It also builds on earlier reporting from July that Eisenberg was writing a series with Rice, drawing on short stories he had written.

Rice was recently named Netflix’s chief content officer, which has led to speculation that the streamer could be among the potential buyers. Netflix already has a relationship with A24 through ‘Beef’. Rice is not expected to be hands-on with the series in his new role, but he will likely keep his executive producer credit since he developed it.

It’s still early, and nothing is confirmed on where the show will land. Even so, the pairing of an Eisenberg script and A24’s taste for distinctive voices has fans paying attention. A Netflix deal in particular would give the series a huge global platform.

The timing follows a strong stretch behind the camera. ‘The Debut’, starring Julianne Moore, is Eisenberg’s third feature as a writer-director, following ‘When You Finish Saving the World’ in 2022 and ‘A Real Pain’. The latter earned him a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and widespread acclaim.

The new film is set in 1990 in New Jersey and follows a woman who gets a part in a musical, which reflects Eisenberg’s own start in theater. He has said he wrote it with Moore in mind. Their warm rapport was on display at the London premiere.

Eisenberg has not abandoned acting. He most recently returned as J. Daniel Atlas in ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’, and he has said he would love to make a fourth film because it is the place where he feels happiest. He also voices a character in ‘Minions & Monsters’ this year.

That range, from big franchise magic to intimate personal stories, is what makes his next move so interesting. A series about 2002 gives him room to explore ideas he clearly cares about. It also gives him a longer canvas than a feature film allows.

The year 2002 may feel like a strange place to find the roots of today’s cultural battles. But if anyone can make that premise both funny and thoughtful, it is probably Eisenberg.

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