Here me now and here me well: Timothy Olyphant kicks ass. Six out of seven doctors recommend him if you are going to get in a gunfight and need a badass western sheriff by your side. The Bible even says so. While Deadwood was the bomb diggity and probably the pinnacle of his career (it’s just that good – not an insult), Olyphant’s been solid in many of his other roles as well, including in what I consider a very underappreciated comedy, The Girl Next Door, where he lays on the sleaze perfectly. It’s a seriously underrated performance as well. Unfortunately though, he’s landed roles in a bunch of stinkers too, including Hitman (although I thought he did a swell job, just a lazy, mindless script) and Live Free or Die Hard (*shudders*).

Whatever. Point being, Olyphant is set to star in the pilot for a new FX drama based on a short story by the legendary Elmore Leonard. That story, titled Fire in the Hole, followed a U.S. Marshal named Raylan Givens who returns to his hometown in Kentucky. Then stuff happens. Bad stuff.

“He has a certain jaggedness, but he also loves his job,” executive producer Graham Yost said of the character Givens. “He is like an anachronism: He wears a hat, cowboy boots and a holster on his hip. It’s a little bit like he was born 100 years too late.”

Oh man, this seems like a role right up Olyphant’s alley. I look forward to hearing and seeing more. Production begins in May.

Source: Coming Soon