Crackle nabs original drama series, Start Up, with Adam Brody, Martin Freeman

Adam Brody and Martin Freeman have been tapped to star in a new one-hour drama called Start Up, just picked up by Crackle, a Sony streaming service, reports Variety.

Hailing from Critical Content, formerly known as Relativity Television, the show looks at a trio of strangers who wind up incubating a brilliant-but-controversial tech idea. Described as not quite “fitting the mold of tech entrepreneurs,” the situation for the three quickly becomes dangerous, involving ties to a Haitian gang and a crooked FBI agent. So Silicon Valley meets Narcos, perhaps?

Eric Berger, General Manager of Crackle and Executive Vice President of Sony Pictures Television Digital Networks, says the program will “explore the motivations and complexities of creating a new venture, while walking a fine line between crime and legitimacy.”

Freeman will play the aforementioned agent, while Brody is in the role of a sharp boutique firm financier. The show is set in Miami, though filmed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It will also star Ed Gathegi (The Blacklist, Twilight) and newcomer Otmara Marrero, who had a small appearance on Graceland.

Freeman has had a long and successful acting career, most recently appearing in the TV series Sherlock and Fargo. He’s also, of course, well-known for playing Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings movies. In addition to this project, he’s been tapped to appear in the upcoming movie Captain America: Civil War.

Brody’s most notable role to date was in teen primetime drama, The O.C., where he played the goofy high-schooler Seth Cohen for the show’s four-season run in the early ‘00s. He has since, however, appeared in a number of TV series, including Burning Love, House of Lies, The League, and Billy & Billie. He will next appear on the big screen in the upcoming movie CHiPs.

This marks the second scripted one-hour drama Crackle has picked up. Previously, the streaming channel scored The Art of More, which has been renewed for its second season. That show stars Kate Bosworth, Dennis Quaid, and Cary Elwes, among others.

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