VIDEO: Russell Crowe Stars as Late Fox News Architect Roger Ailes in ‘The Loudest Voice’ Teaser

Russell Crowe is nearly unrecognizable as the late Fox News architect Roger Ailes in the first teaser for “The Loudest Voice,” Showtime’s upcoming limited-run series about the cable news channel’s evolution into one of the world’s most dominant media empires.

“Here in America, television news is king. We’re going to give them a vision of the world the way they want it to be. We’re way past politics — it’s war,” Crowe’s character says over a score of tense violins.

The short clip hints at everything one might expect from a miniseries based on Gabriel Sherman’s explosive book “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” which purports to offer an insider’s perspective on how Ailes rebranded Fox News into what it is today and reshaped the American political landscape in the process. There are contentious boardroom meetings, angry old men in expensive suits, and even what seems to be inappropriate workplace contact—perhaps alluding to the sexual harassment scandals and settlements which eventually ended Ailes’ career not long before his death in 2017.

Executive produced by Crowe, Sherman, and Jason Blum, among others, with a pilot scripted by Sherman, the series co-stars Naomi Watts as Gretchen Carlson, the on-air newscaster who filed a 2016 harassment lawsuit against the network, Sienna Miller as Roger’s much younger wife Beth Ailes, Simon McBurney as Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch, and Stern Show veteran Seth MacFarlane as former Fox News PR exec Brian Lewis.

Of course, Fox News’ controversial empire is a subject Howard has covered before on the Stern Show. When actress and comedian Amy Schumer stopped by in 2017, Howard even invited her to join his Fox News musical covering many of these very same topics. Check out their impromptu duet (below).

“The Loudest Voice” premieres Sunday, June 30 at 10 p.m. on Showtime.