James R | On 24, Jun 2017

Amazon’s Sea Oak has found a director for its pilot.

The zombie comedy series, which is written by George Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo) from his own short story, was ordered to pilot by Amazon Studios in March, before signing Glenn Close in a starring role last week. Now, it’s doubling down on the talent behind the camera, with the hiring of Hiro Murai to take the helm.

Murai, who is known for his music video work, was a producer-director on FX’s Atlantic, shooting seven of the first seasons’s 10 episodes. He has also directed episodes of Legion for FX and Barry for HBO.

Nurse Jackie’s Evan Dunsky has also joined the project as exec producer and showrunner alongside Saunders.

The show follows Aunt Bernie (Close), an unmarried woman with no kids in a working-class Rust Belt City, who dies in a home invasion. But, compelled by sheer dissatisfaction, she returns from the dead full of anger and a desire to get the life she never had. The family facing her haunting demands includes a “quasi-stripper nephew and two feckless nieces”, who live in a low-end subsidised hellhole of a housing complex – called, you guessed, called Sea Oak.

Close and Dunsky will be joined by Rae Gray (Fear The Walking Dead) and Jack Quaid (Vinyl), although there is no confirmation yet who they will play.

 

Glenn Close to star in Amazon zombie comedy pilot

17th June 2017

Glenn Close has signed on to star in Amazon’s pilot for a new zombie comedy series.

The Oscar-nominated actress is no stranger to the world of TV, winning two Emmy awards for her role as Patty in FX smash hit Damages. Since then, she has turned her hand to feature films in more recent years, adding movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy and The Girl with All the Gifts to a CV that already includes Fatal Attraction and The Big Chill.

George Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo) wrote the pilot, with Affiliated Pictures’ Jonathan Krauss exec-producing with Lael Smith and Keir McFarlane.

Described by THR, who broke the news of Close’s involvement, as “a mix of zombie drama and family revenge comedy”, the show follows Aunt Bernie (Close), an unmarried woman with no kids in a working-class Rust Belt City, who dies in a home invasion. But, compelled by sheer dissatisfaction, she returns from the dead full of anger and a desire to get the life she never had. The family facing her haunting demands includes a “quasi-stripper nephew and two feckless nieces”, who live in a low-end subsidised hellhole of a housing complex – called, you guessed, called Sea Oak.

Should it be commissioned to a full series, Amazon’s Sea Oak would mark Close’s first regular series since Damages. Close’s casting on the project, which was picked up by Amazon in March, is certainly a big step towards a series order.

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