Jean Smart to star in Alexandra Cunningham's 'Dirty John'
Bravo's upcoming crime anthology series, 'Dirty John' is based on the podcast, 'Dirty John', a true crime story which focuses on the life and exploits of John Meehan. The podcast was hosted by L.A. Times Journalist Christopher Goffard who first heard Meehan's name when he came across an investigation of a possible murder in Newport Beach.
As part of the female crew for the TV adaptation, Jean Smart has been signed on for a key recurring role as the mother of Connie Britton's character, Debra Newell. Her character is a single mother who is an interior designer and falls in love with Dirty John aka John Meehan. Eric Bana will be seen in the role of Dirty John. Eric and Jean have also shared the screen in Curtis Hanson's 2006 movie 'Lucky You'.
As the three-time Emmy Award winner, Jean has been nominated five times for her work on the small screen like 'Fargo', 'Harry's Law', 'Frasier', 'The District', '24', and 'Samantha Who'. Her works in films include 'Sweet Home Alabama', 'Garden State', and 'I Heart Huckabees'.
As the plotline of the story for 'Dirty John' goes Debra Newell, who is a successful interior designer, meets the handsome young man John Meehan - a perfectly fitting match who is attentive, available, and is just back from a year in Iraq with Doctors Without Borders. While the two get entangled in a complex web of love, Debra's family denies the relationship, inculcating deception and ultimately the utter struggle for survival within the relationship.
As reported by BravoTV, the media group green-lit a two-season series order for the show, the podcast of which was launched in October 2017 taking a closer look at how Newell's relationship with John turned into a dark tale of deceit, manipulation, and survival for her entire family. While Season 1 will focus on this particular aspect, Season 2 will be more focused on a different, self-contained story, the details of which will be announced at a later date.
The series is being produced by the Universal Cable Productions (UCP) in association with the Los Angeles Times Studios and Atlas Entertainment. It is being produced and written by Alexandra Cunningham who has also been the man behind shows such as 'Chance' and 'Desperate Housewives'. Richard Suckle and Charles Roven will serve as executive producers for Atlas Entertainment; Mark Herzog, Christopher G. Cowen, and Chris Argentieri will serve as executive producers for Los Angeles Times Studios; Britton and Bana will also serve as executive producers.
