A Hulu series that is loosely based on the 1987 Dennis Hopper movie,Black Widow, has added two new stars to its cast. The neo-noir thriller starred Debra Winger and Theresa Russell as Alexandra and Catherine. Alexandra works for the Justice Department and begins pursuing Catherine after she discovers Catherine is marrying and killing wealthy men to inherit their money. Catherine goes by several aliases and alters her appearance with each new marriage. The upcoming Liz Meriwether series has already castEmmy Rossumas the lead FBI agent.
Now,Varietyis reporting thatLola Petticrew and Scott McNairy have joined the show. Petticrew has been cast as Catherine, who will be “a killer with a complicated past targeting wealthy men and running from the NYPD and FBI.” McNairy will play Danny, described as an “NYPD Homicide Detective who’s been at it too long. Danny’s sharp, tired, and emotionally tangled in ways he doesn’t bother to hide anymore."
What This Means For The Hulu Series
McNairy Will Play An Original Character
Petticrew’s Catherine sounds very similar to the earlier version of the character played by Russell. As the series will have more time to spend on the character, it sounds likeher past and backstory will be more fleshed out than in the film. The logline for the show revealed “An FBI agent uses the secrets from a female serial killer’s past to try and find her.” Catherine was primarily pursued by Alexandra in the movie, which may expand out to more characters in the series. Petticrew was recently seen in the Hulu/FX miniseriesSay Nothingfor nine episodes.
McNairy’s Dennis will be anoriginal character to the show. Danny will likely be at odds with Rossum’s character as she hunts for Catherine. As the series has been described as only loosely inspired byBlack Widow, it makes sense that new characters would be included in the series. McNairy recently appeared in the Bob Dylan biopicAComplete Unknownand the horror movieSpeak No Evil. His TV credits includeNarcos: MexicoandTrue Detectiveseason 3.
Our Take On The Casting
The Series Sounds Like An Interesting Take On The Material
Black Widowhad an interesting premise, and the new series is right to take it in a different direction. On a reported $10.5 million budget, it had a modest return of $25.2 million. The movie did not fare well critically, only having a 54% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes. AsBlack Widowis not generally considered a classic, taking its topic and building out a new show is an intriguing idea.
Black Widow
Cast
Black Widow, released in 1987, follows federal agent Alexandra Barnes as she investigates Catherine Petersen, suspected of being a serial killer targeting wealthy husbands. With conventional methods failing against Petersen’s expertise in deception and multiple identities, Barnes goes undercover, hoping to expose the truth and end the murderous spree.
