You'll Get to See That James Comey Show Before the Presidential Election After All

It looks like you'll get to see The Comey Rule, Showtime's buzzy upcoming drama about former FBI director James Comey and his publicly turbulent relationship with Donald Trump, before the 2020 presidential election after all. Showtime has announced a new premiere date for the two-part, four-hour limited series after director Billy Ray criticized its original, post-election debut date. The Comey Rule will now air on back-to-back nights, Sunday, Sept. 27 and Monday, Sept. 28 at 9/8c, on Showtime. 

Showtime had previously announced that the series -- which features Jeff Daniels as Comey and Brendan Gleeson as Trump -- would air over two nights in late November, weeks after the general election. Following the announcement, The New York Times published a letter that had been sent by Ray to the cast, expressing his "disappointment" about the scheduled airdate.

"This was the first time I ever made a movie for my country," wrote Ray, per the Times. "We all were hoping to get this story in front of the American people months before the coming election. And that was a reasonable expectation considering that we'd been given a mandate by the network to do whatever was necessary to deliver by May 15." However, he suggested that this mandate later changed and reported hearing word that the premiere date decision came "at the very highest levels of Viacom[CBS]." 

Comey himself echoed Ray's sentiment. "I don't understand why CBS would sit on a movie about important current events, and I hope the American people get the chance to see it soon," Comey said in a statement, according to the Times.

Shortly after Ray's criticism came to light, ViacomCBS hinted that a change of schedule was in order, telling the Times, "We will be announcing several changes to our schedule, and The Comey Rule is most likely moving to air before the election."

The Comey Rule is an adaptation of Comey's bestselling biography A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, which chronicles Comey's brief time working with Trump. In the book, the former FBI director calls Trump "unethical and untethered to the truth."

The Comey Rule will air Sunday, Sept. 27 at 9/8c and Monday, Sept. 28 at 9/8c on Showtime.