Apple TV+ has given a straight-to-series order to a new limited series from “Honey Boy” director Alma Har’el starring Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o, the streamer announced Wednesday.
The series, titled “Lady in the Lake,” is an adaptation of the 2019 novel of the same name by Laura Lippman. Set in 1960s Baltimore, the series centers on Maddie Schwartz (Portman), a housewife and mother who is pushed by an unsolved murder to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist. The case sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o), a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.
Har’el co-created the series with “The Man in the High Castle” alum Dre Ryan. Har’el will write the pilot and serve as director on the series.
“Lady in the Lake” marks the first foray into television for Portman and the first for Nyong’o since appearing in the African series “Shuga” in 2012. Both actresses will serve as executive producers on the series alongside Ryan, Har’el and producing partner Christopher Leggett through her production company Zusa.
The series hails from Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America. Endeavor Content is the studio. Additional executive producers on the series include Lippman and Ryan, Portman’s producing partner Sophie Mas, Crazyrose principals Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross and Bad Wolf America’s Julie Gardner.