Phillip Seymour Hoffman left several projects unfinished when he died unexpectedly in February. Showtime has decided to move on with Hoffman's series "Happyish."
Steve Coogan will now play Thom Payne as a British expat, a 44-year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25-year-old "wunderkind" boss arrives, saying things like "digital," "social" and "viral." Showtime describes "Happyish" as a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness.
"Steve's range is astounding - he is a comedy legend, a gifted satirist, and he possesses the unique combination of talents this role demands," creator Shalom Auslander said.
"Happyish" will begin filming the half-hour pilot in New York this December. Kathryn Hahn, who co-starred with Hoffman in the original pilot, may return to star alongside Coogan, according to Deadline.
Hoffman signing onto the project last summer played a large part in why the pilot got made. The "Happyish" script sat at Showtime for more than two years, before Hoffman inked a deal for his first series role.
"'Happyish' was a script that I've loved for a really long time, and it took us a while to get to Philip Seymour Hoffman," Showtime president David Nevins said in January.
Hoffman had completed filming as Plutarch Heavensbee on "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part One," but left one pivotal scene unfinished in part two. The Oscar-winner had eight to 10 days left of shooting, but the production used no CGI effects to replace Hoffman.
"We had to rewrite the dialogue scenes that he had left and there's no question that shooting those scenes is painful without him," producer Nina Jacobson said in May. "We might give a line of Plutarch's to Haymitch or Effie, but only in circumstances that we are able to do that without undermining the scene."
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part One" will premiere in theaters on Nov. 21.
Coogan will reprise his role as Octavius in "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb."
