Hulu has found a star for its first big drama series, signing James Franco to topline its time-travel thriller 11/22/63.

The Interview and 127 Hours actor will star as a high school English teacher who travels back in time to try and stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The project is a nine-hour event series produced by J.J. Abrams and writer-producer Bridget Carpenter and based on Stephen King’s 2011 bestseller of the same title.

The series will mark the return of Franco to the small screen, where he launched his career in Fox’s cult-favorite Freaks and Geeks in 1999 and had a recurring role on General Hospital.