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SHOWRUNNERS SET FOR 'THE UNITED STATES VS. VINCE MCMAHON'

Deadline.com is reporting that Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster have been tapped as the official showrunners for the first-ever fictional WWE series, The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon, which was announced last year as a Blumhouse Production and will tell the tale of Vince McMahon facing down and defeating the United States government at trial in 1994, being found not guilty by a jury on charges of allegedly supplying anabolic steroids to WWF performers.

The hiring of Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster adds some credibility to the project.  The duo have been lauded for their work on the Amazon series Transparent, being nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series as well as a Peabody Award.  They have numerous Writers Guild Award nominations for their work on Transparent as well as A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as the legendary Fred Rogers.

The United States Government vs. Vince McMahon was announced in July 2021.  The press release issued at the time noted:

WWE® and Blumhouse Partner to Develop 'The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon'

LOS ANGELES & STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WWE® (NYSE: WWE) and Blumhouse Television are partnering to develop a limited scripted series called, The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon. Jason Blum’s company, Blumhouse, will develop the series for television, led by Blumhouse TV President Chris McCumber. The series, The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon, will be the first-ever scripted dramatic portrayal of a chapter in WWE’s history. Additionally, it is also the first scripted portrayal of McMahon as well as many of the legendary Superstars of that era.

The show will delve into WWE during the 1990s, at the time Rupert Murdoch had purchased the New York Post to further his massive infiltration into the U.S. media landscape. For years, infamous Post writer Phil Mushnick regularly hammered WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon in his column. Headlines like “Legislators Give WWE A Free Pass On ‘Roids” and “McMahon Skips Through the Cemetery” eventually captured the attention of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York – the nation’s most prestigious federal prosecutor’s office with a conviction rate of over 96 percent.

In 1994, the U.S. government indicted McMahon for allegedly supplying anabolic steroids to WWE talent. McMahon, with his liberty at stake, two school-aged children at home and with WWE on the brink of bankruptcy, refused to take a plea deal. Ultimately, McMahon stood trial and was acquitted unanimously by a jury of his peers and went on to build a multi-billion-dollar global sports entertainment empire.

“Jason, Chris and their team at Blumhouse create amazing work and we look forward to delivering an inside look into one of the most pivotal moments in our company’s history,” said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution.

“We have a dramatic, riveting saga – one that’s crazier than fiction – that will appeal to the cross-section of Blumhouse and WWE fans,” said Chris McCumber, Blumhouse Television President. “To say I’m thrilled about collaborating again with WWE is an understatement.”

McMahon, Dunn, Blum, McCumber and Jeremy Gold will serve as executive producers on the project.

The Blumhouse Television team, led by McCumber, have made several significant development announcements in the last few weeks, including: the straight-to-series pick-up of The Thing About Pam, starring Renee Zellweger in her broadcast TV debut for NBC; Blumhouse Ghost Story, the scripted series based on The Battersea Poltergeist BBC podcast, and the companion unscripted series; the continuing series based on Patricia Cornwell's world’s best-selling "Kay Scarpetta" novels for a major; and the exclusive multi-year partnership with ITV America for provocative, disruptive and terrifying content to every corner of the non-fiction space, including Escape the Maze (wt) the first project derived from the partnership; among several other announcements.

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