Hulu dropped some major news at its 2019 upfront, held today in New York. Among other announcements, the streamer revealed that it’s adding major star power with a new series from Nicole Kidman and has given a green light to Season 2 of coming-of-age comedy “Pen15.” Variety also broke the news that Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of “Little Fires Everywhere” will see Lynn Shelton stepping behind the camera.
Nicole Kidman is re-teaming with “Big Little Lies” exec producer Bruna Papandrea and writer David E. Kelly to bring another Liane Moriarty adaptation to the small screen. The Oscar winner will topline and exec produce “Nine Perfect Strangers,” a series taking place “at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation as nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living,” a press release details. “Watching over them during this ten-day retreat is the resort’s director Masha (played by Kidman), a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. However, these nine ‘perfect’ strangers have no idea what is about to hit them.” Kidman’s recent credits include “Aquaman,” “Boy Erased,” and “Destroyer.” She’ll reprise her Emmy-winning role in Season 2 of “Big Little Lies,” set to premiere June 9.
“Pen15” co-creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle will reprise their roles as 13-year-old misfits in a second installment of the critically acclaimed comedy. Set in 2000, the series sees Erskine and Konkle playing younger versions of themselves opposite actual teens.
Variety reports that Shelton, whose recent TV directing credits include “GLOW,” “Love,” and “Fresh Off the Boat,” will helm four of “Little Fires Everywhere’s” eight episodes. The “Outside In” director will also exec produce the adaptation of Celeste Ng’s 2017 bestseller of the same name. The drama depicts the “intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.” Created by Liz Tigelaar, “Little Fires Everywhere” stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, both of whom are exec producing. Shelton recently worked with the former on “The Morning Show,” an upcoming Apple drama set in the world of morning TV.
