Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, Fierce Creatures, Bob’s Burgers) and Jon Tenney (The Closer, Scandal) need to make room on the stage for Laura Linney (Ozark, The Mothman Prophecies, You Can Count on Me) as she joins the cast of MGM+’s upcoming eight-episode series American Classic. Michael Hoffman (Soapdish, Restoration, The Last Station) and Bob Martin (The Prom, Slings and Arrows) co-created American Classic, with Hoffman directing the series focusing on a narcissistic Broadway star looking to bring his old stomping grounds back to form.

Here’s an official description of American Classic courtesy of MGM+:

“American Classic centers on Broadway star and notorious narcissist Richard Bean, played by Kline, who suffers a spectacular public meltdown and returns to his hometown and the family-run theater where he first became aware of his own brilliance. When he arrives, he is shocked to discover that his father, the former artistic director, has lost a step and that the once-respected theater, now run by his brother Jon (Tenney), played by Tenney, and his wife Kristen (Linney), has become, by necessity, a low-rent dinner theater serving roast beef and murder mysteries. He decides to save the town, the theater, and the world by presenting a great American classic on the dinner theater stage, directed by and starring, of course, Richard Bean.”

Laura Linney plays Kristen Forrest Bean in American Classic,  “who grew up acting in the Millersburg Festival Theater founded and run by the Bean family,” per the character description. “Kristen fell in love with Richard Bean at age 19 and ran off with him to try to make it in NY. Once there, Richard’s egotism served him better than Kristen’s quiet intensity and it was his career that took off. Kristen became increasingly frustrated and finally packed up and went home to Millersburg – Where she eventually married Richard’s younger brother, Jon, and had their daughter Miranda. As the recently appointed Mayor of Millersburg, Kristen directs her passion as well as her strong practical side toward helping to keep the family theater alive.”

Beware the perils of putting too much “theater kid energy” under one roof! I can already feel the electricity in the air as Richard, Jon, and Kristen approach the theater’s circumstances with their dueling ideas. Shakespeare, deliver us from egos, altercations, and bridge-mending as the trio discovers the best way to bring the theater back to its roots.