Bob Odenkirk to star in AMC's 'Straight Man'

"Straight Man," the Bob Odenkirk project that AMC announced was in development earlier this month as a potential series, has been greenlighted.

The basic-cable network announced Thursday that the one-hour comedic drama would air next year. Based on the same-name novel by 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo ("Empire Falls"), it stars Emmy Award winner Odenkirk as William Henry Devereaux Jr., the unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded college in Pennsylvania's Rust Belt and who is undergoing a midlife crisis.

Odenkirk currently stars in AMC's acclaimed dramatic thriller "Better Call Saul," a spinoff of "Breaking Bad" featuring his attorney character Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman.

"As 'Better Call Saul' begins its epic sixth and final season, we could not be more excited by the prospect of keeping Bob at home on AMC and watching him breathe life into another nuanced, complicated and unforgettable character," said AMC executive Dan McDermott in a statement.

Co-showrunners Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein said in a joint statement, "We're so excited to work with Bob. We don't know another actor who can give you three different emotions on his face at the same time, in a reaction shot. We're thrilled to swim in the depth of his range," adding that, "Ever since [AMC's] 'Mad Men,' we've wanted a show on this network where risk taking is par for the course."

In a statement on April 6, Odenkirk said in part, "I am drawn to the tone of humanity and humor in the novel and I look forward to playing this role — something lighter than my recent projects but still closely observed and smart.”

On Monday he received the 2,720th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.