Posted in: TV | Tagged: Alena Smith, apple, art, bleeding cool, cable, david gordon green, dickinson, emily dickinson, hailee steinfeld, Pineapple Express, poems, poety, series, streaming, television, the affair, the edge of seventeen, The Newsroom, true grit, tv, vice principals, writing
True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld Joins Apple's Emily Dickinson Comedy Series
As the "traditional networks," cable and streaming services continue upping the competition for original content, viewers have been treated to/forced to endure a number of unique/mind-numbing creative combinations. For example, when was the last time you heard anyone mention "1800s poet Emily Dickinson" and "half-hour comedy" in the same sentence? That's exactly what Apple's going for with their straight-to-series order for Dickinson, a half-hour comedy headlined by Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) in the title role of the famed poet.
Written by Alena Smith (The Newsroom, The Affair) and directed by David Gordon Green (Vice-Principals, Pineapple Express), Dickinson is set during Emily Dickinson's era with a modern sensibility and tone. It takes viewers into the world of Emily (Steinfeld), audaciously exploring the constraints of society, gender, and family from the perspective of a budding writer who doesn't fit in to her own time through her imaginative point of view. Dickinson is Emily's coming-of-age story – one woman's fight to get her voice heard.
Smith executive produces alongside Green, Sugar23's Michael Sugar (Spotlight) and Ashley Zalta (Maniac); Anonymous Content's Alex Goldstone (Welcome to the Jungle); and Darlene Hunt (The Big C, I Heart Huckabees). Newly launched independent studio wiip will handle production responsibilities.
Receiving a supporting actor Oscar nomination for her performance in 2010's True Grit and a leading actress Golden Globe nomination for 2016's The Edge of Seventeen, Steinfeld is also know for her turns in Pitch Perfect 2 and 3 and can be seen next in December's Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. The actress is also a successful recording artist for Republic Records and is currently in studio writing and recording her first full-length album.
For Apple's part, Dickinson joins a programming slate that includes Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine, a morning-show drama starring Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston; Are You Sleeping?, starring Octavia Spencer; and a Kristen Wiig-led comedy. Apple is also looking as an Amazing Stories reboot from Steven Spielberg; a Ronald D. Moore space drama; a Damien Chazelle series; world-building drama See from Steven Knight and Francis Lawrence; and an M. Night Shyamalan psychological thriller.