HBO has announced a slew of release dates for both new and returning series, including the acclaimed political comedy Veep, Emmy-winning drama Big Little Lies and the upcoming drama miniseries Chernobyl and Spanish-language comedy Los Espookys.
RELATED: Big Little Lies: Nicole Kidman Teases Season 2 Premiere Date
Reese Witherspoon and Kidman are returning as both stars and executive producers of the show. The leading ladies are being joined by three-time Oscar-winner and 21-time nominee Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady, The Post), who was announced last year as being cast in the role of Mary Louise Wright, the mother of Alexander Skarsgård’s Perry Wright. Mary arrives in Monterey concerned for the well-being of her grandchildren following the events of the first season.
Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoe Kravitz are also set to return to the series. In season 2, Woodley’s character Jane Chapman will be processing Perry’s sudden death in the storyline, while trying to build a new life for herself and her son, Ziggy. Dern’s Renata Klein, a woman who will be faced with new challenges in her marriage. Bonnie Carlson, Zoë Kravitz’s character, will confront her past while struggling to come to terms with Perry’s death.
Writer and showrunner David E. Kelley will write all seven episodes (just like the first season) which are partially based on the book by Liane Moriarty. He will executive produce alongside Kidman and her Blossom Films topper Per Saari, with Witherspoon executive producing through Hello Sunshines Banner. Bruna Papandrea, Jean-Marc Vallée, Nathan Ross, and Gregg Fienberg will also executive produce.
RELATED: HBO’s My Brilliant Friend Renewed for a Second Season
Director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), who shot all the episodes in Season 1, will not direct this coming season. Andrea Arnold (Transparent, American Honey) will take the helm for Season 2, as well as serving as an executive producer.
The first season of Big Little Lies took home eight Primetime Emmy’s, including statues for Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård, Laura Dern, Jean-Marc Vallée, and Outstanding Limited Series. The series also won four Golden Globes, including Best Television Limited Series. The second season is set to premiere in June.
The Emmy-winning comedy series Veep concluded its ten-episode sixth season June 25, 2017. The show stars Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, the former vice president and president, who is struggling to navigate uncharted political territory. The ensemble cast also includes two-time Emmy winner Tony Hale, Emmy nominee Anna Chlumsky, Emmy nominee Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Kevin Dunn, Emmy nominee Gary Cole and Sam Richardson.
Veep was created by Armando Iannucci, executive produced by David Mandel, Frank Rich, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lew Morton and Morgan Sackett, and will return to HBO on March 31 at 10:30 p.m. EST.
RELATED: Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson Cast in HBO’s Chernobyl
Chernobyl dramatizes the story of the 1986 nuclear accident, one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history, and of the brave men and women who made incredible sacrifices to save Europe from unimaginable disaster.
Debuting on HBO in May, the five-part miniseries stars Jared Harris (The Crown), Stellan Skarsgård (Good Will Hunting) and Emily Watson (Oscar nominee for Hilary and Jackie and Breaking the Waves).
Skarsgård will take on the role of Boris Shcherbina, the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and head of the Bureau for Fuel and Energy of the USSR, Watson will be Soviet nuclear physicist Ulana Khomyuk, dedicated to understanding the cause of the man-made disaster to ensure it never happens again, and Harris will portray Valery Legasov, the Kremlin-appointed scientist investigating the accident.
Johan Renck will be directing Chernobyl based on the script by Craig Mazin, who will also serve as an executive producer. Sharing exec producing duties with Mazin are Carolyn Strauss and Jane Featherstone. Chris Fry will be co-executive producing along with Renck. The miniseries is produced by Sister Pictures and the Mighty Mint under the HBO and Sky co-production banner.
RELATED: HBO Orders Comedy Los Espookys from Fred Armisen, Lorne Michaels
Los Espookys is set in a strange and dreamy version of present-day Mexico City and follows a group of friends turning their love for horror into a peculiar business. The series will star Bernardo Velasco, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Ana Fabrega, and Julio Torres.
Velasco stars as Renaldo, the leader of Los Espookys who is noble, kind, serene, and obsessed with gore. He’s always running out of cell phone minutes. Ciangherottie plays Ursula, a calm and collected dental assistant who provides teeth for the group’s monsters. She loves horror and her sister Tati but above all, teeth. Fabrega will play Tati, Ursula’s sister and Los Espooky’s test dummy. She’s constantly juggling several odd jobs, such as breaking in other people’s shoes and testing child safety locks. Torres stars as Renaldo’s best friend Andres, a dark and mysterious heir to a chocolate empire. His only true nemesis is his gorgeous boyfriend.
Armisen will portray Renaldo’s reliable uncle Tico who lives in L.A. He’s a prodigious valet driver living his dream of parking cars.
Fernando Frias is serving as director on the Los Espookys pilot. The project is written by Armisen alongside Fabrega and Torres and will be produced by Michaels’ Broadway Video in association with Antigravico and Más Mejor. Executive producers include Armisen, Michaels, and Andrew Singer with Fabrega, Torres, and Alice Mathias set to co-executive produce.
Los Espookys is set to debut on HBO in June.
