Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords, Our Flag Means Death) has been cast in the CBS and Warner Bros. pilot Regency, from writer and executive producer Tara Hernandez (Mrs. Davis, The Big Bang Theory). The project is in contention for the 2026/27 broadcast season.
Regency is a historical spin on the classic multi-cam family sitcom, centered around the upper-middle-class Tillbrooks as they navigate life, love, and scandal in 19th-century England.
In a lead role, Darby will play Arthur Tillbrook, head of the family home, Hartford Park. Arthur is heir to a vast cheese empire but prefers to think of himself as a “guy’s guy.” He will go to great lengths to prove his masculinity, though his privileged upbringing reveals itself every time.
If the multi-cam pilot is ordered to series, it will be a return to CBS for Hernandez, who served as a co-executive producer on both The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon. She also collaborated previously with Warner Bros, as the creator of the sci-fi comedy drama Mrs. Davis, which ran for one season on Peacock.
Darby is perhaps best known for his breakout role in the U.S. in HBO’s 3-season hit series Flight of the Conchords, working opposite longtime collaborators and fellow New Zealanders Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. Darby played Murray Hewitt, manager of Jemaine (Clement) and Bret’s (McKenzie) band, Flight of the Conchords. He has worked on other notable projects with Clement and McKenzie, including What We Do In The Shadows, the 2014 mockumentary film that inspired the FX TV series of the same name. Most recently, he starred in HBO Max’s short-lived, fan-favorite series Our Flag Means Death as Stede Bonnet.
His film credits include The Boat That Rocked, Yes Man, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and its sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level, and he is expected to return to the third installment of the franchise. Darby is repped by UTA, Artists First, and Yorn, Levine.
English (US) ·