Hulu doesn’t quite have the original content success Netflix and Amazon has celebrated, but they are trying their hardest to change that. As they accelerate into motion their mini-series adaptation of Stephen King‘s JFK assassination novel “11/22/63“, they roped in Chris Cooper, Lucy Fry, George MacKay, Leon Rippy and Cherry Jones to star alongside James Franco, Sarah Gadon and Daniel Webber for its upcoming nine-episodes. Also, Kevin Macdonald (Black Sea) is on board to direct the first two episodes.
Franco was already confirmed to lead as Jake Epping, a modern-day high school English teacher who travels back in time to prevent the president’s assassination. Meanwhile, Gadon, just as of yesterday, signed on as the female lead Sadie Dunhill, a librarian in the ’60s who falls for Franco’s character. Webber will portray Lee Harvey Oswald, the man credited with the assassination of JFK.
Cooper will play diner owner and Franco’s mentor, Al Templeton, Fry will perform as Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey’s Russian wife, and Jones signs on as Marguerite Oswald, Lee Harvey’s mother. MacKay, meanwhile, is Bill Turcotte, a young 1960s bartender and ally to Jake from Kentucky, while Rippy will play Harry Dunning, a soft-spoken janitor at Jake’s school.
No other directors besides Macdonald are attached publicly at this time. Franco produces in addition to starring, and is joined by executive producer Bridget Carpenter (“Friday Night Lights”), who will write the teleplay. J.J. Abrams‘ Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television also help bring the 2011 book to life. [Deadline]
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