Hulu has officially ordered a pilot for Southern Bastards, an adaptation of Jason Aaron and Jason Latour’s acclaimed graphic-novel series. The project hails from Onyx Collective, POV Entertainment, Proximity Media, and Fifth Season.
Bill Dubuque — the creator behind Netflix’s Emmy-winning Ozark and writer of The Accountant — is penning the pilot and executive producing. Nia DaCosta (Candyman, The Marvels) will direct the pilot and serve as an executive producer through her banner, The Once and Future, Inc.
Matt Olmstead (Chicago P.D., Prison Break, Chicago Fire) will act as showrunner and executive producer.
The story follows a determined military veteran who returns home to Craw County, Alabama, in search of her estranged father. Instead, she finds herself in the middle of a violent stronghold where power, pride, and corruption revolve around high school football — and the county’s legendary coach rules with an iron fist.
The Image Comics series debuted in 2014 and quickly became a standout for its gritty Southern storytelling, blending small-town loyalty, generational trauma, and the dark side of local hero worship. Aaron and Latour will executive produce the pilot as well.
Alongside DaCosta, Dubuque, and Olmstead, the pilot is executive produced by Aaron and Latour; Layne Eskridge for POV Entertainment; and Gabrielle Nadig. Proximity Media — founded by Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian — is also on board, continuing its mission to help uplift grounded, culturally rich storytelling across genres.
DaCosta recently wrapped Hedda, starring Tessa Thompson, and is set to direct 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, releasing January 16. She previously made history as the first Black woman and youngest filmmaker to helm a Marvel Studios film with The Marvels, after breaking out with Candyman.