Erin Kellyman and Tim McGraw are set for lead roles in the “Southern Bastards” pilot currently in the works at Hulu.
Kellyman and McGraw join previously announced star Kevin Bacon in the pilot, which is based on the graphic novels of the same name. It was picked up to pilot at Hulu in October 2025.
The official logline states that the show “follows a tenacious military vet (Kellyman) into Craw County, Alabama, in search of her estranged father (Bacon). What she finds is a murderous hornet’s nest of organized crime run by the winningest high school football coach in the South (McGraw).”
Kellyman’s character, Roberta, is further described as “A former marine who is facing charges by the military after an incident in Afghanistan. Intelligent and psychologically complex – constantly trying to understand and outrun her generational trauma and inherited violence. When she comes to Craw County, she’s just out for revenge, but if she’s going to change this county for good and topple everything Boss has built, she’s got to put down roots and find a home in the town.”
Kellyman was named one of Variety’s 10 Brits to Watch in 2025. She most recently played Jimmy Ink in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” having originally appeared as the character at the end of “28 Years Later.” She has also been in films like “The Green Knight” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” while she has appeared in TV shows like “Top Boy,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and the 2018 TV version of “Les Misérables.”
She is repped by CAA, Curtis Brown Group, and Goodman, Genow
McGraw will play Coach Boss, who is said to be “Legendary head football coach of Craw County High School, he is the leader of his community and a complex figure who embodies the dark side of Southern football culture. He’s the head of an organized crime ring that extends beyond his small town in Alabama, and he’s not afraid to protect his empire by any means necessary.”
McGraw is best known for his superstar music career, having sold over 106 million records worldwide along with 49 number one singles, and 19 number one albums. He will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2026. McGraw is also an accomplished actor. He starred in the “Yellowstone” prequel “1883” at Paramount+, and played a former high school football star in the hit film “Friday Night Lights” in 2004. Likewise, he appeared in the Oscar-winning high school football movie “The Blind Side” opposite Sandra Bullock in 2009.
He is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Bill Dubuque and Nia DaCosta share a co-story credit for “Southern Bastards,” with Dubuque writing the teleplay and executive producing. Matt Olmstead will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Reinaldo Marcus Green will direct and executive produce the pilot. Jason Aaron and Jason Latour, who created the graphic novels, will executive produce. Layne Eskridge of POV Entertainment also executive produces along with Ryan Coogler, Sev Ohanian, and Zinzi Coogler of Proximity Media and Green. Simone Harris of Proximity and Kate Berry of POV co-executive produce. Proximity Media’s creative executives Hannah Baker and D’Angelo Louis will also oversee the project. The series is produced in association with Fifth Season.
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