Woody Allen’s new Amazon series has just added some more talent. The untitled series has now cast Michael Rapaport, Lewis Black, Becky Ann Baker and a handful of others.
According to Deadline, little details are known about Allen’s new project, other than its being set in the ‘60s, its six half-hour episode makeup and — with the addition of Margaret Ladd, Joy Behar, David Harbour, Christine Ebersole, Rebecca Schull and the above-mentioned trio — its having a lengthy cast. Previously announced cast members include Miley Cyrus, Elaine May, John Magaro, Rachel Brosnahan and Allen himself.
While all seems okay now, Allen was previously having a difficult time with this project, going so far as to say “I have regretted every second since I said OK. It’s been so hard for me.” The 80-year-old writer-director, who claims to not know what a streaming service is, recently confessed his inexperience with series work made him feel like a fish out of water. “For me, it has been very, very difficult. I’ve been struggling and struggling and struggling,” Allen. “I only hope that when I finally do it — I have until the end of 2016 — they’re not crushed with disappointment because they’re nice people and I don’t want to disappoint them. I am doing my best.”
Allen agreed to do the series only after a lot of wheeling and dealing with Amazon. As he puts it, “Amazon kept coming to me and saying, please do this, whatever you want” but “I kept saying I have no ideas for it, that I never watch television.” Finally, after they ultimately offered him a huge paycheck and full creative control, he obliged.
This series only furthers Allen’s relationship with Amazon. North American rights to his latest (yet-to-be titled) film starring Jeannie Berlin, Jesse Eisenberg, Steve Carell, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Corey Stoll and more, have been secured by Amazon Studios. The romantic comedy set in the 1930s will debut in theaters this summer and be available on Amazon Prime a few months later.
Allen’s pair of untitled Amazon projects will follow 2015’s severely-underrated film Irrational Man starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone.
Allen wrote all the scripts and is set to direct his forthcoming series. Production began this month in New York.