Eddie Murphy to pull off a career first with upcoming scripted series ‘The Chairman’

The upcoming Peacock series marks the Oscar nominee and comedic legend’s first dramatic series and the latest turn in his more than 40-year career.

Eddie Murphy’s television exploits date back to his 1980s breakthrough on “Saturday Night Live.” Now Murphy is set for a slight career pivot for his next role.

The Academy Award nominee is set to star in “The Chairman,” a drama series for Peacock, where he will headline, according to Deadline. It’s the first dramatic series for Murphy, who previously starred in TV series such as “The PJs” for Fox and created the 1991 sitcom “The Royal Family” starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese. While “The PJs” lasted for three seasons, “The Royal Family” concluded after one season following the death of Foxx, who suffered a heart attack while rehearsing on the show.

While details are scarce about “The Chairman,” the series was created by “Mad Men” boss Matthew Weiner, who will also serve as the lead writer and producer.

Murphy’s career has spanned more than 40 years, and the comedian-turned-box-office superstar has starred in more than 40 films since 1982’s “48 Hrs.” The news of “The Chairman” comes shortly after the release of his Netflix documentary, “Being Eddie,” a career retrospective that let viewers in on Murphy’s life both on and off the screen.

“There is no one else like him. Nobody,” the documentary director and two-time Oscar winner Angus Wall said, per Netflix. “He’s been famous longer than just about anyone alive, and he’s never lost who he is. He has survived it all with grace. How did he do that? What guides him? We chase all of these questions with him.”

Wall added, “Eddie has played a lot of different characters over the last 40-plus years, but he has never played himself on screen before. He opens up his world and his heart and I think people are going to really enjoy spending time with him.”

The comedian’s return to the big screen will come with the fifth installment of the “Shrek” series, tentatively set for release next June. The film brings back Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Murphy and adds Zendaya as Shrek and Fiona’s daughter, Felicia. According to Murphy, there’s also a “Donkey” spinoff in the cards at DreamWorks.