According to Deadline, Emmy winner Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) has officially signed on to star opposite Emmy and Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo (Selma) in Showtime’s upcoming political drama pilot The President is Missing. Dowd is set to portray the titular key role as Jill Stroud, who is the first female President of the United States of America.
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In The President is Missing, a powerless and politically aimless Vice President (Oyelowo) unexpectedly becomes President halfway into his administration’s first term, when President Jillian Stroud (Dowd) goes missing, despite his every wish to the contrary. He walks right into a secret, world-threatening crisis, both inside and outside the White House. Attacked by both friends and enemies alike, with scandal and conspiracy swirling around him, he is confronted with a terrible choice: keep his head down, toe the party line and survive, or act on his stubborn, late-developing conscience and take a stand.
Joining Oyelowo and Dowd are Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy), Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs, Ozark), Paul Adelstein (Prison Break), Medina Senghore (Happy!), and Gina Gallego (Seinfeld, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend).
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The President is Missing will be written by Anthony Peckham (Invictus). The series is executive produced by Christopher McQuarrie and Heather McQuarrie and co-executive produced by Jillian Share for Invisible Ink Productions. Peckham, Bill Clinton, James Patterson, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout and Oyelowo will also executive produce.
The pilot is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Former President Bill Clinton and James Patterson, which was the No. 1 novel of 2018 and has sold over 2.3 million copies in North America alone.
Filming is scheduled to begin sometime this year.
