'The Premise' First Look: B.J. Novak's Comedy Anthology Series Arrives Soon

It's been more than a year since FX approved a series order on B.J. Novak's comedy anthology series, but they finally have something to show us. Novak released the first-look images of the upcoming FX on Hulu original series, The Premise, via his Twitter. FX also shared the cast, episode synopses, and the release date, with the first two episodes slated to make their debut on September 16.The Premise is a five-episode anthology series, with each episode featuring a different cast and drastically different tone. The episodes will be hosted by Novak, who you might know best as the temp Ryan on The Office.

Novak created and executive produced The Premise. He wrote three of the episodes by himself and co-wrote the other two with Josie Duffy Rice and Jia Tolentino. The episodes are directed by Novak, Kitao Sakurai, Darya Zhuk, and Jake Schreier.

The official episode casts and synopses are as follows.

Starring: Ben Platt, Ayo Edebiri, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jermaine Fowler, and Melissa Saint-Amand

Synopsis:

"When a white, woke, twenty-something ally to social justice causes discovers video evidence of a disputed police incident in the background of his highly embarrassing sex tape, a savvy young lawyer and her mentor strategize on how to best use the tape and witness to save an innocent man from prison."

Starring: Jon Bernthal, Boyd Holbrook, Beau Bridges, and Amy Landecker

Synopsis:

"After losing his daughter to gun violence, a grieving father pursues a new job as a PR director at the National Gun Lobby, where he's befriended by a coworker who starts to suspect the man's motives may be far more dangerous than they seem."

Starring: Lucas Hedges, Kaitlyn Dever, O'Shea Jackson Jr., George Wallace, Ed Asner, Brendan Scanell, and Grace Song

Synopsis:

"A pop megastar returns to his high school to pledge a donation to build a new library, but instead promises to have sex with the school's valedictorian as an academic achievement prize. The promise inspires the disillusioned Abbi along with the rest of the student body, while the star's manager and the school's principal desperately try to walk back the promise."

Starring: Lola Kirke, Soko, Sylvia Grace Crim, and Benjamin Clement

Synopsis:

"A young woman with a happy life and loving partner becomes obsessed with a critical anonymous comment online, eventually upending her life in a quest for the commenter's approval."

Starring: Daniel Dae Kin, Eric Lange, and Bryan Batt

Synopsis:

"A once-poor child of immigrants who has now become one of the world's richest men presents a chance at redemption to his former school bully: an uninterrupted hour with his board of directors to pitch a very specific product."

You can check out the first two episodes on FX on Hulu on September 16, 2021.