Jeff Danielsis starring in a new Apple TV+ series inspired by a memoir about the media world. Though Daniels is perhaps best known for the screwball comedyDumb and Dumber, he’s also highly adept at delivering dramatic performances, starting his career withTerms of Endearmentin 1983 and going on to star inThe Purple Rose of Cairo,Something Wild, andThe Squid and the Whale. He’s also won an Emmy Award for playing the anchor Will McAvoy in Aaron Sorkin’sHBO seriesThe Newsroom.

Now, the Emmy-winning actor will be returning to television. According toDeadline,Daniels will star in the Apple TV+ seriesDilettantebased on Dana Brown’s memoir about working for formerVanity Faireditor Graydon Carter. Daniels will play a fictionalized magazine editor based on Carter. The series is written by Brown and Daniel Goldfarb, the creator of Max’sJulia, and is described as a “fictionalized coming-of-age story set in the glamorous and cutthroat Golden Age of magazines in 1990s New York.”

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What Jeff Daniels Starring In Dilettante Means For The Show

What To Expect From His Character

InDilettante, Daniels will play a fictionalized magazine editor based onVanity Faireditor Graydon Carter,much like how Meryl Streep’s fictionalized magazine editorMiranda Priestly inThe Devil Wears Pradais believed to be based onVogueeditor-in-chiefAnna Wintour, for whom the novel’s author, Lauren Weisberger, had worked as a personal assistant, basing the character of Andrea Sachs (played by Anne Hathaway in the movie) on herself. Similarly, Dana Brown was an assistant to Carter, and later rose to deputy editor ofCondé Nastmagazine.

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In his memoir,Dilettante: True Tales of Excess, Triumph, and Disaster,Brown recounts his journey to becoming one of Carter’s most trusted confidantes, attending glamorous media events like the Oscars and encountering notable figures such as Anna Wintour, Seth Rogen, and Caitlyn Jenner. When his memoir was originally optioned for television, Brown compared the potential series toSuitscombined with thecutthroat drama ofSuccession, though he admitted he had never actually seen the USA legal drama.

Headshot of Jeff Daniels

Our Take On Jeff Daniels Starring In Dilettante

It Won’t Be The First Fictional Character Based On Graydon Carter

InDilettante, Daniels actually won’t be playing the first fictional character based on Graydon Carter. In the 2008 filmHow to Lose Friends & Alienate People,Jeff Bridges played a magazine editor, Clayton Harding, who was loosely based on Carter. Daniels should be able to deliver a performance that feels distinct by emphasizing Carter’s charisma, self-assuredness, and showmanship, rather than creating a caricature.Jeff Danielswon an Emmy for playing a fictionalized media figure, news anchor Will McAvoy, by making him feel like a real-life figure, so he should be able to do it again inDilettante.