‘The Premise’ from B.J. Novak Reveals Cast and Episode Details

The Premise Star Jon Bernthal
Jon Bernthal as Chase Milbrandt in ‘The Premise’ (Photo by Ray Mickshaw/FX)

FX on Hulu’s new comedy anthology series created by B.J. Novak (The Office) has an official title and confirmed premiere date. The Premise will premiere on Thursday, September 16, 2021 with the release of the series’ first two episodes hosted by Novak.

The anthology’s cast includes Ben Platt, Tracee Ellis Ross, Daniel Dae Kim, Lola Kirke, Soko, Jermaine Fowler, Ayo Edebiri, and Eric Lange. Lucas Hedges, Kaitlyn Dever, Jon Bernthal, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ed Asner, George Wallace, Boyd Holbrook and Beau Bridges also star in the anthology series’ first first episodes.

B.J. executive produces along with Oscar winner John Lesher (Birdman). Novak, Jake Schreier, Kitao Sakurai, and Darya Zhuk are the directors, and the writers include Novak, Josie Duffy Rice, and Jia Tolentino. The series is produced by FX Productions.

FX released the following descriptions of The Premise’s episodes:

  • “Social Justice Sex Tape” – When a white, woke, twenty-something ally to social justice causes (Platt) discovers video evidence of a disputed police incident in the background of his highly embarrassing sex tape, a savvy young lawyer (Edebiri) and her mentor (Ellis Ross) strategize on how to best use the tape and witness to save an innocent man (Fowler) from prison.
  • “Moment of Silence” – After losing his daughter to gun violence, a grieving father (Bernthal) pursues a new job as a PR director at the National Gun Lobby, where he’s befriended by a coworker (Holbrook) who starts to suspect the man’s motives may be far more dangerous than they seem.
  • “The Ballad of Jesse Wheeler” – A pop megastar (Hedges) 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 (Dever) along with the rest of the student body, while the star’s manager (Jackson Jr.) and the school’s principal (Wallace) desperately try to walk back the promise.
  • “The Commenter” – A young woman (Kirke) with a happy life and loving partner (Soko) becomes obsessed with a critical anonymous comment online, eventually upending her life in a quest for the commenter’s approval.
  • “Butt Plug” – A once-poor child of immigrants (Kim) who has now become one of the world’s richest men presents a chance at redemption to his former school bully (Lange): an uninterrupted hour with his board of directors to pitch a very specific product.