Daniel Negreanu Picks Up Four Kings: Scripted TV Series About Pro Poker Players

June 8th, 2015 | by Jason Reynolds

But does he have Q rating? Daniel Negreanu is set to appear in “Four Kings,” a new scripted TV series about poker players’ lives. (Image: WSOP.com)

Daniel Negreanu may be focused on the World Series of Poker at the moment, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t also taking time to increase his already impressive media profile.

According to the often-controversial poker pro, he’ll be appearing in at least one episode of a new poker-themed television drama called Four Kings, playing none other than himself in a number of scenes.

According to Negreanu, the show, while about poker, won’t be focused solely on the game, something that should be able to attract a more mainstream audience to the show.

“What I’ve liked about the script so far is that it’s not about poker,” Negreanu told PokerListings. “That’s what they do, they play poker for a living; but it’s not about the game, it’s about the lifestyle. I think it has the opportunity to be mainstream, which is most important.”

Aiming for Mainstream Appeal

Mainstream interest would help support a show that otherwise might only appeal to gamblers or poker players, which probably wouldn’t be enough to keep the show running. Bringing in Negreanu, one of the few poker players with true crossover appeal, should certainly help in that regard.

According to the description on the show’s IMDb page, Four Kings will be a half-hour drama about four friends who share a penthouse at the Cosmopolitan, an actual casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

The group includes three poker players and one bookmaker, and the show will focus on their friendship, as they “stick together and watch each other’s backs through everything that comes their way in their search for becoming world champions.”

Negreanu has made no secret of his work on the show in recent weeks, even if the details weren’t entirely apparent until now. In late May, Negreanu posted several photos and videos to his Instagram account showing off what he was doing on set, including driving a Ferrari around Los Angeles for the show (something you would never normally see driving around Los Angeles. Yes, we’re kidding.)

Negreanu says that he hopes that if Four Kings takes off, it can help to revitalize poker’s image in the public consciousness.

“I think it’s going to help poker look cool again,” the Canadian poker pro said. “Kinda like a reboot of Rounders, where Rounders really helped put poker on the map.”

It’s unclear when the show will be coming to air, or what network might pick up the program, but hopefully it will fare better than another American TV series of the same name that apparently tanked before it floated back in 2006. But that one didn’t have a poker theme…or Negreanu.

Large Media Presence

For Negreanu, the appearances on Four Kings will be just the latest in a series of media appearances for one of poker’s most popular ambassadors.

PokerStars Original Films announced last month that they would be releasing a documentary about Negreanu. Titled Kid Poker, the film gives an overview of Negreanu’s life, from his beginnings in Canada through some of his early struggles and the highlights of his Hall of Fame career.

A trailer for Kid Poker showed a number of poker’s biggest personalities giving interviews for the production, including Phil Ivey and Antonio Esfandiari.

Negreanu is also among the first wave of players to have announced partnerships with the upcoming Poker Central television network. The 24/7 poker network will feature a variety of content related to the game, and players such as Negreanu, Esfandiari, and Phil Hellmuth have been tagged to help create programming for Poker Central’s launch, which is expected to take place later this year.