Showtime Taps Russell Crowe to Play Former Fox News Boss Roger Ailes

Showtime's Roger Ailes mini-series has officially tapped Russell Crowe to play the disgraced Fox News founder, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ailes left Fox News in the summer of 2016 after multiple sexual harassment allegations. The 77-year old executive, who is credited with launching the careers of Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly among others, died less than a year later in 2017.

Showtime picked up the mini-series based on Ailes fall from grace in April and now has an Academy Award winner to put on the poster. Crowe isn't the only Oscar winner associated with the project, though. Spotlight screenwriter Tom McCarthy co-wrote the pilot with Gabriel Sherman, who also wrote the book the series is based on The Loudest Voice in the Room.

Showtime is wasting no time in promoting the series, with network boss David Nevins already calling it a "defining story of the era," in a statement.

The series is expected to debut next year.

(Full disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS, Showtime's parent company)

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