Keira Knightley, last seen in Philippa Lowthorpe’s “Misbehaviour,” is making a leap to television. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two-time Oscar nominee is set to star in and executive produce “The Other Typist,” a limited series based on Suzanne Rindell’s 2013 novel of the same name. “The L Word” creator Ilene Chaiken will be writing and taking on showrunner duties.
Set during the Prohibition era, “The Other Typist” focuses on Rose, a naive typist for the New York Police Department who is drawn into the shady world of her glamorous new co-worker (Knightley) — but “when the ultimate crime is committed, it’s uncertain which of the two women is more treacherous.”
Knightley had previously been developing the novel as a feature film. The project marks a noteworthy move in the British actress’ career; while Knightley has occasionally worked on television productions, such as PBS’s “Doctor Zhivago” in 2002, these early credits preceded the boom in prestige television and the uptick in big name stars making the transition to the small screen.
In an interview with Variety in 2018, Knightley commented, “with the rise of Netflix and Amazon we’re seeing some strong female characters and female stories on streaming services.” Famed for her predilection for period dramas, she added, “I don’t really do films set in the modern day because the female characters nearly always get raped. I always find something distasteful in the way women are portrayed, whereas I’ve always found very inspiring characters offered to me in historical pieces.”
More recently, during the “Misbehaviour” press tour, Knightley noted how unusual it was for her to have multiple upcoming or potential projects with female directors attached. “‘Misbehaviour’ was directed by a woman. The next film I’m about to start is directed by a woman, and the one that I’m in a negotiation with for afterwards is by a woman. That’s never happened in my career before, that there has been the possibility of working with three female directors in a row,” she told Digital Spy. “I hope that that means that there is change.” No word yet on who will be directing on the Hulu series.
Knightly received Oscar nominations for “The Imitation Game” and “Pride & Prejudice.” “Official Secrets,” “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” and “Colette” are among her recent credits.
Chaiken won an Emmy for her work as an exec producer on Hulu’s adaptation of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Most recently, she served as an exec producer on Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q,” a sequel to “The L Word.”
