“Neon Demon” alum Abbey Lee has joined the cast of Jordan Peele’s “Lovecraft Country” series at HBO, replacing previously cast series regular Elizabeth Debicki.
Ordered straight-to-series more than two years ago, the adaptation of the 2016 Matt Ruff novel follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he joins up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father.
Lee will now play the role of Christina Braithwaite, the only daughter of the leader of a secret order calling themselves the “Sons of Adam.” Per HBO, “she’s gone to great lengths to earn her father’s respect, to no avail. She’s going to pave her own path to power, and she’s going to use Atticus and his family to do it.”
Michael K. Williams, Wunmi Mosaku, Aunjanue Ellis and Jamie Harris also star.
“The Gifted” alum Jamie Chung and “Unbroken” star Jordan Patrick Smith have also joined the cast in recurring roles.
Chung will play Ji-Ah, a seemingly naive nursing student who is thrust into active service when war breaks out. A rash of soldier disappearances suggests she is more than what she seems. Meanwhile, Smith will play William, Christina’s henchmen, lover, bodyguard, spy, and anything else she needs him to be when she needs him to be it.
“Underground” creator Misha Green is writer and showrunner. J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot’s Ben Stephenson will also executive produce alongside Green and Peele. The project hails from Peele’s Monkeypaw and Abrams’ Bad Robot in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Daniel Sackheim, whose recent credits include “The Americans,” “Jack Ryan,” and “True Detective,” will direct and executive produce.