Dear Hahn: ‘WandaVision’ actress boards new Hulu series
Dear Hahn: Last year, Kathryn Hahn’s Emmy-nominated performance as villainous Agatha Harkness in Disney+’s Marvel series “WandaVision” was widely acclaimed by fans and critics, who are eager to see more from the veteran character actress. There is certainly more to come, since a spinoff titled “Agatha: House of Harkness” is in the works.
Next up for Hahn is a role in Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” which is due out in theaters later this year, but after that, the actress will be front and center in a new limited series that was recently greenlit by Hulu.
An eight-episode drama, “Tiny Beautiful Things” is the story of a woman (played by Hahn) who, per the logline: “reluctantly becomes Dear Sugar — an anonymous, revered advice columnist — when her own life is falling apart. Told in multiple timelines with astonishing intimacy, nerve and candor, she excavates the beauty, struggle and humor in her own life to show us that we are not beyond rescue, that it’s our stories that will ultimately save us.”
The limited series, which was handed a straight-to-series order, is based on the 2012 book by author Cheryl Strayed that was previously adapted for the stage by
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (2002) star Nia Vardalos. “Little Fires Everywhere”
showrunner Liz Tigelaar adapted Strayed’s book for TV and will serve as showrunner as well as executive producer — a title she’ll share with Reese Witherspoon (among many others).
It’s worth noting that Witherspoon both starred in and executive produced the 2014 film adaptation of Strayed’s second novel, “Wild.” Witherspoon and co-star Laura Dern (“Jurassic Park,” 1993) each earned an Oscar nomination for their performances in that film, which was directed by late Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée (“Dallas Buyers Club,” 2013). The three — Witherspoon, Dern and Vallée — teamed up again in 2017 for HBO’s “Big Little Lies.”
Dern has also boarded “Tiny Beautiful Things” as an executive producer via her Jaywalker Pictures production company, which she founded with producing partner Jayme Lemons.
Resistant ‘Rust’: “American Rust” is here to stay — at least, for another season.
Back in January, Showtime announced it had canceled the freshman drama starring Jeff Daniels (“The Newsroom”) and Maura Tierney (“ER”). Fortunately for fans and the production crew, the series, which is based on a novel by Philipp Meyer, is getting a second chance, courtesy of Amazon’s Freevee. Amazon’s premium, free
(ad-supported) streaming service has opted to revive “American Rust” for a second season, but technically, this is the series’ third stop: it was first ordered straight to series at USA Network in 2017 before being scrapped and later picked up by Showtime in 2019.
The series centers on the sheriff (Daniels) of a Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania, the first season chronicling his conflict when the son of the woman he loves (Tierney) is accused of murder. Both Daniels and Tierney will return for Season 2, as will writer and executive producer Dan Futterman.
“’American Rust’ is exactly the type of gritty and engaging storytelling Amazon Freevee audiences love, and we could not be more excited to bring this prestige series to our customers, free of charge,” Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi, the co-heads of content and programming for Freevee, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to dive in with Boat Rocker and Dan Futterman to continue the story that intrigued audiences during the first season, and to see the evolution of characters so expertly portrayed by Jeff and Maura in this next chapter.”
Daniels, who also serves as an executive producer, likewise expressed his joy in a statement: “I’m grateful to Amazon Freevee for giving us the chance to make Season 2 of ‘American Rust.’ Set inside a struggling American small town, our authentic, realistically told story is built for streaming. The movies they don’t make anymore are being made as series at places like Amazon Freevee. It’s where I want to be.”