Fox announced today another addition to its upcoming courtroom anthology series Accused. Emmy winner and style icon Billy Porter has been tapped to direct an episode of the series, with a cast that is yet to be announced. Each episode of the series will tell a different story of a person waiting for a verdict, with viewers not knowing details of the crime they might have committed. The full story will be unveiled throughout the episode, but it is told from the accused’s point of view, which means there will be plenty of room for speculation — and we’ll certainly meet a roster of unreliable narrators.
Porter’s episode will center around a fierce drag queen who is connected to an affair that ended with devastating consequences. At this point, the drag queen can be played by anyone, including real drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race who have revealed their talents for acting, including fan-favorites Shangela and Willam. Porter himself could star in addition to directing, or the network might go a different way and select a bigger name to attract viewers.
Porter rose to prominence after starring on FX’s Pose as Pray Tell, the emcee and fashion designer of New York underground balls which were created in order to celebrate Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ people, who were mostly excluded from society in the 80s and 90s. Porter recently challenged the status quo by playing a genderless Fabulous Godmother in Prime Video’s Cinderella. We are yet to see Porter’s directing debut: he has a couple of projects to which he's attached as director, but they haven't premiered yet. Depending on how much they get delayed, Accused may end up becoming the actor’s official directorial debut.
The up-and-coming director joins a growing cast that has been slowly revealed by Fox. CODA star and Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin is also set to make her directorial debut with an episode of the series. Michael Chiklis (The Shield) and Whitney Cummings (Studio 666) have been announced as stars, but details of their episodes have not been announced.
Accused is developed by three-time Emmy winner Howard Gordon, who has written for The X Files, 24, and Homeland. He adapts Accused from a 2010 BBC One series of the same name, which ran for two seasons and was created by Jimmy McGovern (Time). The original British series was widely acclaimed, earned BAFTA and Emmy nominations, and featured high-profile actors such as Olivia Colman, Sean Bean, Andy Serkis, Alfie Allen, Jodie Whittaker, Naomie Harris, Marc Warren, and many others.
Fox is yet to reveal more details about the Accused remake, including further cast members and release date.