Showtime has announced a pilot production order for the hour-long dramedy Rita, starring Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Lena Headey (Game of Thrones).
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In Rita, Headey, whose credits also include Fighting with My Family, The Flood, and the upcoming The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, will play the title character, a headstrong, unconventional teacher and single mother who takes on every kind of authority — as well as her family — in a messy and unfiltered way.
“Rita is a deliciously subversive character who will make you laugh and cry as she continuously challenges the hypocrisy around her. It goes without saying that Lena Headey is a force, whose essence is ideal to take on this wonderfully dynamic lead role,” said Jana Winograde, President of Entertainment at Showtime Networks Inc.
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Headey will executive produce the pilot, a co-production of Showtime and Platform One Media, with creator and showrunner Christian Torpe (Silent Heart, Blackbird). Torpe is also writing the pilot based on his award-winning original Danish series. Elisa Ellis will executive produce for Platform One Media, which is headed by Katie O’Connell Mash.