Meryl Says Yes to TV but Shailene is a Definite No
Friday, September 9, 2016 at 2:00PM 
Meryl Streep is not a TV neophyte. She has appeared in two of what is now called a limited series, the first time at the beginning of her career in Holocaust (1978) and then in Mike Nichols’ adaptation of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (2003), she won an Emmy each time. So it’s no surprise that she’s making another limited series, particularly in this era when they are so in vogue with movie stars. The surprise here is who she’s collaborating with; J J Abrams.
Sadly however it's not Felicity:The Later Years. The project is The Nix, an adaptation of the bestselling first novel by Nathan Hill about a woman who gets national press exposure for throwing rocks at a conservative governor on the presidential campaign trail. Sounds like it would be right in Meryl’s wheelhouse.
Meanwhile that proposed conversion of the last book of the Divergent series from film to TV hit a bump in the road...
If you were not following, the studio behind the franchise with diminishing returns, has decided to finish the story by making the concluding chapter a TV series due to the poor box office of the last movie. Its star, Shailene Woodley, however is having none of it as she said yesterday in an interview while promoting her latest film Snowden:
"I didn’t sign up to be in a television show. Out of respect to the studio and everyone in involved, they may have changed their mind and may be doing something different, but I'm not necessarily interested in doing a television show."
Which is interesting since she has recently finished working on Big Little Lies, another limited series based on a bestselling book. It co-stars all your favorite actresses, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern and will run on HBO next year. Sounds like she’s just not interested in this TV series, which is quite understandable since it’s not what she signed on for.
Who else is on your list of movie stars who should try the long form?
Reader Comments (14)
Tilda Swinton comes to mind. TV can be a slower burn than film, so it really allows gifted actors to explore character development with subtlety and detail. Ever since I saw Tilda in I Am Love I have this image in my mind of just how wonderful she would be in a Mad Man-esque TV show, quietly, richly descending into the most fashionable and moodiest of life crisis. Also, can you imagine binge watching 10 hours of Tilda in period garb? That amazing angular face that doesn't even belong to this planet draped in furs, scarves, hats... I die! #scattermyashes
Also, Lupita N'yongo on a Daredevil type show about X-Men's Storm, tracing Ororo's origin stories back to the African savannah. That would be epic.
I am very interested in this JJ Abrams project because it seems to be the future of movies, at least what we thought of as classic movies that have a strong narrative and adult characters. Bloodline and Mad Men, for example, were both very cinematic and effectively used great actors, and Mad Men especially rose up around the same time that movies became dominated by comic book films and cartoons. Streep recently said she wanted to do a TV series, and then voila, she was cast in this. Jessica Lange also (arguably) would not have come back big in movies, so television has given her a chance to play a range of characters.
Who will play Streep's son? Chris Pine or Domhnall Gleeson?
Anyone else find it ironic that Shailene is all "I didn't sign up to be in a TV show" when that's pretty much EXACTLY what she signed up for? The only difference is the distribution method.
Damn Jono. I read the novel ( great). And I mentally cast Chris Pine as the son.
Super happy with longform TV storytelling. Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Fargo, Damages, American Crime Story, Making of a Murderer, Night Of. The lines are blurry between 6-ep arc and potential for series (e.g., Bloodline, Grace and Frankie) to continue stories with same characters.
But this crossover is perfect for middle-aged actors (particularly women), who don't have to depend on firm skin, slim bodies, and great looks, to hook audiences, when they can just concentrate on developing rich, exciting characters in interesting stories.
Yay for Meryl. I want to binge-watch her on my screen! Hard to think of others who haven't already done TV, but perhaps not in a starring role like Diane Lane, Monica Bellucci, Helena Bonham Carter, Marisa Tomei. Plus more from Glenn Close, Octavia Spencer (that''s NOT Red Band Society), Angela Bassett, Sarah Lancashire (not really a movie star but she's so freakin' good I want to see her in everything), Helen Mirren, Regina King, and even Emma Thompson.
Chris Pine is perfect and he and Meryl can work together again. He also has the JJ connection.
In other words, she demanded $$$ but they only offered her $ - so she won't do the TV series.
carmen. there's absolutely nothing tv about tilda. pull yourself together.
Phil, I live in the Middle East. We don't usually get Tilda's movies in theaters in this part of the world. I actually consume most of her work via streaming (i.e. on my TV set). She can be just as powerful on the small screen than in the movie theaters. Get your head out of your ass and realize the world is bigger than your little bubble.
Besides, TV and streaming are churning out top quality material so the whole "TV is beneath movies" implication is frankly quite stupid.
Third, TFE is a mostly cordial space of which I've respectfully been part for about a decade now. However, if you come at me with a completely gratuitous bitchy attitude, I feel no need to be polite.
Phil, I live in the Middle East. We don't get Tilda's movies in theaters here. I consume her films mostly via streaming (i.e. TV set), so the thought of her on a high quality TV show comes quite naturally to me.
It is a big world, we all live different lives, in different conditions, with different limitations. No need for the catty attitude.
I want to see a trifecta of reds working together on a limited series -- Sissy Spacek, Nicole Kidman and Jessica Chastain.
Denny - you are right on the money.
My favorite of the recent limited series actor revelations was Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Honorable Woman. So I'd love it to happen for someone like that, who's had a pretty good movie career but hasn't had the chance to own a character compelety.
On this subject, it's driving me crazy that Sissy Spacek (!!!) is doung great work in Bloodline but no one is giving award attention to her. She's so underrated which makes me loves her even more.
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