Apple TV+ has officially given a straight-to-series order to Honey Boy filmmaker Alma Har’el and Dre Ryan’s upcoming limited series adaptation of Lady in the Lake, based on Laura Lippman’s novel of the same name. Academy Award-winning actresses Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o have signed on to star in the thriller drama, portraying the leading roles of Maddie Schwartz and Cleo Sherwood, respectively. This project marks the first major TV project for Portman and Nyong’o, who have both served as the narrator for previous documentaries such as The Armenian Genocide and Serengeti.
Portman will next be seen in Marvel Studios’ highly-anticipated fourth Thor installment, Thor: Love and Thunder which is currently filming in Australia. Meanwhile, Nyong’o is also expected to make her MCU return in the upcoming Black Panther sequel. Both projects are scheduled for a 2022 theatrical release.
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Lady in the Lake takes place in 60s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o), a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.
Pick up a copy of the novel here!
The limited series will be created, written and executive produced by acclaimed director Alma Har’el and The Man In The High Castle’s Dre Ryan with Har’el set to direct the series. This project also marks Har’el’s first television project.
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On top of starring, Portman and Nyong’o are also executive producing along with Lippman, Sophie Mas, and Zusa’s Christopher Leggett. Lady in the Lake will also be executive produced by Crazyrose’s Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross along with Bad Wolf America’s Julie Gardner. Endeavor Content is the studio.
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images & Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
