Eddie Murphy has not led a scripted series since SNL, and Mad Men's creator wants to fix that
Eddie Murphy could be heading back to scripted TV with a new Peacock series — and the creative partner he’s reportedly lined up is one you’ll recognise.
Whispers are swirling that Eddie Murphy might finally be making his return to TV, and not in some dusty old rerun — we're talking brand new, prestige drama territory, with Matthew Weiner (the bloke behind Mad Men, if you somehow missed the ‘60s brooding ad men craze) reportedly steering the ship. Jeff Sneider, a usually well-sourced Hollywood gossip merchant, dropped this nugget on his blog, and the rumour mill hasn’t stopped since.
Eddie Murphy hasn't headlined a scripted series since he left Saturday Night Live back in the 1980s.
Apparently, the project’s early yet — it’s being developed for Peacock by Weiner and 101 Studios, and crucially, it’s not a return to Mad Men or any kind of spin-off. So, no Don Draper cameo, no sassy adverts, just something new altogether. If this lands, it’ll be Murphy’s big return as a lead in TV fiction, four decades since his SNL heyday. For Weiner, it’s the meatiest TV gig he’s had since Amazon’s short-lived 2018 anthology, The Romanoffs. (No, most people didn’t see that either.)
Eddie’s Relentless Schedule
If you reckon Murphy’s been quietly enjoying retirement, you’ve not been watching closely. After one or two longer breathers in past decades, he’s now got a finger in about eight different pies:
- His recent comeback stretch includes Dolemite Is My Name, Coming 2 America, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, all turning heads (if not always for the same reasons).
- The heist comedy The Pickup — where he starred alongside Pete Davidson and Keke Palmer — may have split the room on Prime Video, but it barely dented Murphy’s momentum. He’s still got half of Hollywood knocking on his door, from different genres at that.
Animation and Franchise Universe
If you prefer Murphy animated, he’s just finished voicing Donkey again for Shrek 5, this time lining up with both original cast (Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz) and fresh faces like Zendaya, Skyler Gisondo, and Marcello Hernández. Plus, a Donkey solo film is coming — centered on arguably the only character in the series who could talk us into watching even more.
And if that’s still not enough, Murphy’s taking on Inspector Clouseau in Jeff Fowler’s live-action/CG mashup of The Pink Panther. The new spin? Clouseau has a bizarre imaginary friend: the Pink Panther himself, helping with (or hindering) his crime-solving. Ambitious… or possibly very strange.
More Live Action on the Way
Murphy’s also busy with Kyle Newacheck’s action-comedy Playas Ball (an “undead” twist, whatever that means at this stage) and is set to star opposite Eva Longoria in Attachment Parenting, a crime-caper comedy about two rival psychologists whose parenting is put to the test under very illegal circumstances.
Like many things in Hollywood, this Peacock-Weiner series is still a rumour for now, but even getting Murphy in the same sentence as “prestige TV drama” is enough to turn some heads. If you grew up with Murphy’s frenetic ‘80s energy, seeing him helm something in Weiner’s slow-burn, cocktail-swigging universe would be... surprising, to say the least.