The Comey Rule Cast is Preparing for Trump's Reaction

The cast and crew of The Comey Rule are gearing up for a fight with President Donald Trump. During a Showtime panel about the upcoming series, stars Jeff Daniels and Michael Kelly and writer/director Billy Ray revealed that they’re expecting Trump to “hate” the two-part drama, as it depicts him in a less-than-flattering light. “At the very least, I’m expecting a mean nickname on Twitter,” joked Ray.

Written and directed by Billy Ray (The Hunger Games, Richard Jewell), The Comey Rule charts the turbulent relationship between FBI director James Comey (played by Jeff Daniels) and Donald Trump (Brendan Gleeson). The first episode focuses primarily on the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server, while the second shifts the action to the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“The reason I did this was because I felt that the Russians had had a profound and unhappy effect on our political process in 2016, and I wanted the American public to know about that before they went to the polls in 2020,” said Ray during a virtual panel on Thursday. “We had an opportunity to take them inside the rooms where these decisions were being made.”

Given the timely subject matter, as well as The Comey Rule‘s late-September premiere date, the cast and crew is expecting President Trump to issue some sort of condemnation of the miniseries — and Gleeson has already gotten out of dodge. Ray said that the actor is currently in Ireland, where he’ll be “far away” from any blowback the cast is “going to get from our current president.”

“I gave up predicting how Trump would react to things five years ago,” joked Ray, when asked about a potential presidential rant. “I think it’s likely that the IRS will start auditing my taxes.”

While The Comey Rule is explicitly anti-Trump, Ray, Daniels, Kelly, and the show’s other stars insist that they “didn’t make this series to change people’s votes” in the presidential election. “I did not do this to sway anyone’s vote, but I do think it’s important,” said Kelly. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on.”

Daniels added that even the most politically-literate viewers will learn something new about Comey, who he described as inherently “apolitical” throughout the 2016 election. “This is a deep dive into why Comey did what he did,” said the veteran actor. Even if you think you know everything that happened with the Russia investigation and Comey’s subsequent firing, said Daniels, “Here’s the other side. You decide. See you on November 3rd.”

The Comey Rule airs Sunday, September 27 and Monday, September 28 at 9/8c on Showtime.