Toni Collette, Merritt Wever and Kaitlyn Dever stars in new Netflix limited series 'Unbelievable'
Netflix has a new eight-episode limited series called 'Unbelievable', and Toni Collette (United States of Tara), Merritt Wever (Godless) and Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing) have been cast in it. Erin Brockovich writer Susannah Grant, CBS TV Studios, studio-based producers Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly (Masters of Sex, Elementary) and Katie Couric have all been assigned to create the thriller that will follow the story of a teenage girl and two detectives.
Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) is all aboard to direct and executive produce the first three episodes and Grant - who is also set to serve as the showrunner - will be co-creating the show with Michael Chabon (John Carter) and Ayelet Waldman (Applebaum).
The plot of 'Unbelievable' is based on The Marshall Project and ProPublica Pulitzer Prize-winning December 2015 article, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape,” which was written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong. Contributing to that will be the “This American Life” radio episode about the same case, “Anatomy of Doubt.”
The story follows Marie, a teenager who was charged with lying about getting raped. The two female detectives involved in the tale happen to investigate her case and thus embark upon a twisted journey towards finding the truth. Collette and Wever are assigned to play the designated detectives whose paths cross in their mutual pursuit of a what seems like a possible serial rapist; as for Dever, her role hasn't been revealed yet.
Grant, Chabon, Waldman, Timberman, Beverly, and Couric are all set to executive produce the show. It has also been revealed that Timberman & Beverly and Couric have been independently pursuing the rights to the article and eventually landed to show “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” after they joined forces.
The two-time Emmy nominated Collette also has a supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in 'The Sixth Sense'. Her Emmy nominations include the titular role in Showtime’s 'United States of Tara', and another third one for 'Tsunami: The Aftermath'. Her most recent performances include the 'Wanderlust' drama series for Netflix and BBC One.
Wever's most recent performance has been as Agnes in the Netflix show, 'Western Godless'. She will also appear in Noah Baumbach's upcoming project and is most popularly known for her role as Zoey Barkow - the young nurse on 'Nurse Jackie'.
Dever — whose credits include 'Last Man Standing' — is going to be seen starring opposite Steve Carrell in 'Beautiful Boy'. She will also join Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, and J.K. Simmons in Jason Reitman’s 'The Front Runner'.
Director Cholodenko has a shared Oscar screenwriting nomination with Stuart Blumberg for their 'The Kids Are All Right' screenplay. The duo is also collaborating on writing Paramount’s English-language take on Toni Erdmann; Cholodenko is also set to direct that.