Nicole Kassell will celebrate her “Watchmen” Emmy win by helping HBO deliver another hit. She’s signed on to serve as lead director on “The Baby,” a dark horror comedy the premium cable network is co-producing with Sky. Variety confirmed the news.
Created by Siân Robins-Grace and Lucy Gaymer, the series is being touted as “a funny, raw examination of motherhood as an institution: a set of unspoken and often horrifying rules that affect women differently depending on how they’re viewed by society.”
Kassell is among the project’s exec producers.
An all-women writers room is being assembled with recruits including Sophie Goodheart (“Sex Education”), Kara Smith (“Kaos”), Anchuli Felicia King (“White Pearl”), and Susan Stanton (“Succession”). Bisha K. Ali is signed on to consult on the series.
“We can’t believe our luck that Nicole’s joining us on ‘The Baby’ – her body of work speaks for itself,” said Robins-Grace and Gaymer. “She’s a spectacular collaborator and creative, and working with her is an education. Our phenomenal team of writers are bringing the full force of their talent to the story. We’re surrounded by creative and technical brilliance, basically.”
Kassell added that she’s “beyond honored and thrilled to be reuniting with HBO and joining Sky and this incredible team to bring ‘The Baby’ to fruition.” She continued, “I read Sian’s brilliant script early in lock down, and it cut straight through the noise and anxiety of our times, to take me on a wild, zany ride with wonderfully complex women grappling with the toughest of decisions any of us are lucky enough to make – to have or not have a child,” she said. “Embracing comedy and horror the show catapults us through an incredible adventure all while tackling the real-life explosions that the question of procreation can have on the self, family, and friendships. To be working with the powerhouse producers that are Sister, all women whose work and careers I have long admired, is a life-long dream. I’m ever grateful to have Sian, Lucy, and Sister embrace my vision and trust me with their baby.”
Filming is slated to kick off in the UK in 2021.
Kassell scored an Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series this year for her role as an exec producer on HBO’s Regina King-starrer “Watchmen.” She also received a nod for directing the graphic novel adaptation. Kassell’s other TV credits include “Claws,” “Westworld,” and “The Americans.”
