'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story': Meet the cast of the show on 'one of America's messiest divorces'
The first season of 'Dirty John' made its debut in 2018 with the true story of the relationship between Debra Newell and John Meehan that resulted in a horrifying fatality in the end. The first season aired on Bravo but Season 2 of 'Dirty John' will premiere on USA Network and will chronicle the true story of Betty Broderick, a woman that was convicted for murdering her husband, and his second wife. Betty was interview by Oprah Winfrey in 1992 and the highly acclaimed host had deemed Betty's experience as "one of America's messiest divorces".
Harperbazzar had reported that it was in the '60s that Betty Bisceglia met Dan Broderick and the couple wed 1969. Their divorce involved intense and complicated days, from mind games, gaslighting and restraining orders to custody battles when it came to the kids and lastly fatalities. While Betty was suspicious that Dan was cheated with his new younger legal assistant Linda Kolkena in 1982, Dan had completed denied the affair referring to his wife as "crazy." It was only later that Dan had married Kolkena and admitted he had been unfaithful.
The series has a starry cast for its second installment of gripping relationships, so let's meet the cast portraying "one of America's messiest divorces" in 'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story'
Amanda Peet stars as Betty Broderick
Peet is an actress who studied at Columbia University. She was part of the off-Broadway revival of Clifford Odets' 'Awake and Sing', and in 1995, she played the guest-starring role of Leslie Harlan in 'Law & Order' (1990). Her debut on the big screen also happened in 1995 with her role as Debbie in 'Animal Room'. It wasn't until her role as Jill in 'The Whole Nine Yards' (2000) opposite Bruce Willis that the actresses made a footprint in the industry.
Not to mention, that same year the actress was voted as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People Magazine", according to her IMDb page. Her other works include her roles as Emily Friehl in 'A Lot Like Love' (2005) starring Ashton Kutcher, as ASAC Dakota Whitney in 'The X Files: I Want to Believe' (2008), as Joan in 'The Way Way Back' (2013) and currently as Jules James in 'Brockmire' (2016-2020).
Christian Slater as Dan Broderick
Slater is an American actor, voice actor, and producer born to Michael Hawkins, a well-known soap actor, and Mary Jo Slater, a casting agent. Slater's role as Binx in 1985's 'The Legend of Billie Jean' that Slater was on the industry's map. In 2016, the actor has earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his title role as a mysterious hacktivist leader in 'Mr. The Robot' (2015).
The actor who also played the acclaimed role of JD in the cult film 'Heathers' (1989) is known to have dated big names such as Winona Ryder and model Nine Huang. It wasn't until 2000 that Slater tied the knot with Ryan Haddon and the couple had two children. The couple had divorced in 2007 after having been separated for two years.
Slater is now married to Brittany Lopez since 2013 and the couple shares a daughter together. Hollywood's "bad boy" ( he's had a few run-in's with the law) has made quite a name for himself and his other works that you may recognize him from include: Ushari from 'The Lion Guard' (2016-2019), Josh Davis from 'The Public' (2018), the voice of Vance Maximus in 'Rick and Morty' and the voice of Deadshot in 'Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.'
While Slater and Peet play the roles of the main two chess pieces in the dangerous true-life story, supporting actors include Rachel Keller as Linda Kolkata, Dan's second wife. You may remember Keller from her role as Syd Barrett in 'Legion (2017-2019), as Jean in 'In the Shadow of the Moon' (2019) and as Simone Gerhardt in Fargo (2014). Tiera Skovbye plays the role of young Betty, and you may recognize as Polly Cooper from The CW's 'Riverdale.' The Canadian actress is also acclaimed for her role as Elizabeth Berkley in 'The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story' and as Robin / Margot in 'Once Upon a Time' (2017-2018.)
The synopsis of the season reads, "Betty Broderick (Amanda Peet) was the perfect Southern California blonde wife and mother. Married to her handsome college boyfriend Dan (Christian Slater), Betty charms everyone she meets. After years of sacrifice and suffering, while supporting Dan through both medical and law school until he exploded into the San Diego legal community as a superstar, Betty is finally enjoying the fruits of their labors. That is until Dan hires Linda, a bright, beautiful young woman without baggage with whom he can happily forget the struggles of his past. Betty's attempts to fight back and enraged refusals to accept reality only serve to isolate and destabilize her until she loses her very identity. And Dan's cold confidence blinds him to the bear he has created, and won’t stop poking … until it's too late."
You can watch the trailer for 'Dirty John' Season 2 below.
'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story' will premiere on USA Network on June 2, 2020, at 9 pm ET, with two back-to-back episodes. The following week, starting June 9, 2020, the episodes will air at 10 pm ET.