Mark Ruffalo's 'I Know This Much Is True' Moves To May As HBO Juggles The Schedule Amid Delays

We have officially entered the period in Hollywood’s reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, where the virus isn’t just delaying films due to theater closings, but the global production stoppage is creating an issue where new content isn’t coming out when it’s scheduled to be released. And in the case of TV series, where the turnaround time is pretty quick from the end of production to premiere, that creates a bit of chaos at networks, which is why we’re seeing HBO juggle the release of its upcoming limited series, “I Know This Much Is True.”

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According to HBO, the series premiere of the upcoming drama is moving from its original date of April 27 to the new date of May 10. Obviously, on paper, moving the premiere of a new series by only two weeks isn’t a huge deal. Two weeks is negligible when it comes to when a limited series hits a network, especially on a premium service like HBO. However, it’s the reason for the delay that might cause TV fans a bit of concern.

Deadline reports that the cause for the delay has nothing to do with “I Know This Much Is True,” which stars Mark Ruffalo as twin brothers, in an adaptation of the Wally Lamb novel. Instead, the reason is the production stoppage of “The Undoing,” the upcoming Nicole Kidman series, which was supposed to debut in May. Apparently, because of the production delay (which has no end in sight, as of now), ‘I Know’ will take that series spot as “The Undoing” is likely moving to a fall premiere.

READ MORE: ‘The Undoing’ Trailer: Nicole Kidman Is An Unraveling Murder Suspect For Director Susanne Bier & HBO

This is the first big example of HBO having to juggle an already-completed series with a series that was expected to be finished but now is delayed. As the production delays continue in the weeks to come, we could be looking at various other networks having to rearrange release dates to space content out better so that there isn’t a period of time where nothing new is debuting. However, as this COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc, those delays could result in some serious issues for TV networks, if the pipeline truly does run dry.

Joining Ruffalo in the cast of the new limited series are Melissa Leo, Rosie O’Donnell, Archie Panjabi, Imogen Poots, John Procaccino, Rob Huebel, Philip Ettinger, Aisling Franciosi, Michael Greyeyes, Guillermo Diaz, Marcello Fonte, Bruce Greenwood, Brian Goodman, Juliette Lewis, and Kathryn Hahn. “I Know This Much Is True” is directed by celebrated indie filmmaker Derek Cianfrance (“Blue Valentine,” “The Place Beyond The Pines“) and he wrote and adapted the entire series himself as well.

Cianfrance also executive produces along with Mark Ruffalo for Willi Hill Productions, Gregg Fienberg, Lynette Howell Taylor, Ben Browning & Glen Basner for FilmNation Entertainment, Anya Epstein, Wally Lamb; Jamie Patricof co-executive produces.

The six-part series will now premiere on HBO on May 10.