Actor Bob Odenkirk has spent years on AMC playing the fallible attorney Saul Goodman, but next he's looking to appear on the network as a much more grounded figure: the late journalist David Carr. Today the network announced that it is developing a six-episode miniseries adaptation of Carr's memoir The Night of the Gun, with The Shield creator Shawn Ryan attached to write and Odenkirk set to star.

Published in 2008, The Night of the Gun was a relentlessly introspective memoir that looked at Carr's history and harrowing battles with cocaine addiction. The heralded journalist, who worked at The New York Times from 2002 until his death last year at the age of 58, took an unflinching, journalistic approach to his struggles, and The Night of the Gun become a New York Times bestseller, praised for both its honesty and ultimate story of redemption. Frankly, it's hard to imagine a better combination of writer and performer to tackle the project, given Ryan's history of deftly handling morally-complicated protagonists, and Odenkirk's own ability to realize characters that are flawed, complex — but always human.

"It's gonna be crazy... if we do it right."

"I read David's story, The Night of the Gun, when it came out and was wildly entertained by his saga," Odenkirk said in a statement. "It's a story of survival filled with pain, crack, journalistic righteousness, abandoned cars, crooks, lies, and then there's the two little girls who saved his life. Shawn Ryan is the man to explore this real anti-hero story. I hope to do justice to David's intellect and his scrappy nature. It's gonna be crazy... if we do it right."

When that may actually comes to pass is still up in the air. Development is just the first step on the long road to production, but with so many talented individuals involved in a project of this pedigree, AMC will no doubt want to get The Night of the Gun on the air as soon as it can.