An all-girl skateboarding crew is coming to HBO. The Hollywood Reporter confirms the network ordered Crystal Moselle and Lesley Arfin’s “Betty,” inspired by the former’s 2018 indie “Skate Kitchen,” to series. The comedy has been picked up for six episodes. Filming has already commenced in New York.
“Betty” sees a group of diverse young women “navigating their lives through the predominantly male-oriented world of skateboarding,” per the source. Moselle and Arfin created the project and are writing and exec producing. Moselle is directing. Izabella Tzenkova and Lizzie Nastro of Kotva Films are producing.
“Skate Kitchen’s” Rachelle Vinberg, Nina Moran, Moonbear, Dede Lovelace, and Ajani Russell will all star in “Betty.”
Vinberg’s Camille, introduced in the film, is described as a “perceptive and intelligent” young woman “who wants to be down with the dudes and has fought hard for the small space she’s carved out with them.”
Another “Skate Kitchen” holdover is Moran’s Kirt, a generous, funny “lover (to the ladies)” and “fighter (to the rest of the world).”
“Skate Kitchen’s” Moonbear will take on a new character, Honeybear. The “quiet storm, dark horse” of “Betty,” Honeybear is “funnier than she thinks, wiser than she appears, and as stubborn as a boot on a tire.”
Also reprising her film role is Lovelace as Janay, who’s as outspoken and strong-willed as she is warm and loyal. “At the end of the day, she’s the person you’d pick to be team captain,” THR hints, “not because she always wins, but because she’d buy you a drink after the game no matter the score.”
Finally, Russell will also return to her “Skate Kitchen” character, Indigo. Sexy, adventurous, and fun, she is “a street-savvy hustler who leans closer to the edge of shadiness than the others. Indigo’s the type of person who would steal your wallet and then help you look for it.”
“Skate Kitchen” premiered at Sundance 2018. In addition to directing, Moselle co-wrote the pic with Jen Silverman and Aslihan Unaldi. The film was inspired by real-life skateboarders Moselle met on the train, as she revealed in an interview with Women and Hollywood.
No word on a premiere date for “Betty” yet.
Moselle made her feature debut with “The Wolfpack,” a Sundance award-winning documentary. The film follows six brothers confined to their home who learn about the world by watching films.
Best known for co-creating Gillian Jacobs-starrer “Love,” Arfin’s other writing credits include “Girls” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
