Following the recent announcement that Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex, Now You See Me 2) was set to star opposite Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help) on Apple TV’s upcoming thriller series Are You Sleeping, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Emmy winner Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, The Path) has joined the project as the male lead.
Along with Paul, Apple has rounded out its cast for the 10-episode series, with Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us), Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds), Mekhi Phifer (ER), Michael Beach (Sons of Anarchy), Tracie Thoms (Rent), and Haneefah Wood (One Day at a Time) all boarding the project.
Based upon Kathleen Barber’s novel of the same name, Are You Sleeping tells the story of Josie Buhrman (Caplan) who has tried to slowly put her life back together after the murder of her father, her mother’s abandonment, and a betrayal of her twin sister Lanie (Caplan). However, things take a turn when investigative reporter reopens her father’s 13-year-old murder case.
Spencer stars as Poppy Parnell, a relentless investigative reporter who looks to uncover the truth behind a decades-old questionable murder verdict through her new podcast.
Paul stars as convicted murderer Warren Cave, whose guilt or innocence has remained a question in many people’s minds for the past 20 years. The role reunites Paul with Apple chiefs Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, who produced Breaking Bad when they worked as co-presidents of Sony Pictures Television.
Jones will play Leander “Shreve” Scoville, the father to Poppy (Spencer). Jones recently earned an Emmy nomination for his guest role as Randall’s (Sterling K. Brown) biological father on NBC’s This Is US.
Perkins, a three-time Emmy nominee, will play Melanie Cave, the mother to Warren (Paul), who is the subject of Poppy’s podcast. Perkins recently worked on This Is Us and will appear on HBO’s Sharp Objects.
Phifer is set to play Markus Knox, a former detective and Poppy’s longtime friend. Phifer’s recent television credit includes The CW’s Frequency reboot.
Emmy-nominated Thoms will play Desiree Scoville, Poppy’s older and opinionated sister. The actress has starred on Lifetime’s UnREAL and Netflix’s Love.
Finally, Wood is set to star as Cydie Scoville, Poppy’s fiercely loyal sister. Wood has previously starred on FX’s Baskets.
Are You Sleeping offers a glimpse into America’s obsession with true-crime podcasts and will challenge viewers to consider the consequences when the pursuit of justice is put on a public stage. The thriller/drama is being written and produced by Nichelle Tramble Spellman (The Good Wife), who will also serve as showrunner. Along with Tramble, Are You Sleeping will be executive produced by Octavia Spencer’s Orit Entertainment, Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter’s Hello Sunshine, and Chernin Entertainment which is headed up by Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Kristen Campo.
Apple’s other upcoming series includes two others from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine: a morning-show drama starring Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston and a comedy led by Kristen Wiig. Apple’s slate also includes Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Amazing Stories reboot, a Ronald D. Moore space drama, a Damien Chazelle series, world-building drama See from Steven Knight and Francis Lawrence, an M. Night Shyamalan psychological thriller, and the comedy Dickson starring Hailee Steinfeld.
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