British actress Kaya Scodelario, has recently been announced as the new lead in Netflix‘s upcoming figure skating drama series, Spinning Out. Fellow actress, Emma Roberts originally held the role’s lead spot before she promptly left the series only a month after signing on due to scheduling conflicts. While previously, rom-com actress Lily Collins was rumored to be in the final negotiations to replace Roberts in the new series’ role.
Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes head writer, Samantha Stratton, will be tasked with writing the pilot script and Lara Olsen (90210, Reign) will serve as co-showrunner/executive producer on the 10-episode order for the future drama.
Scodelario, may be well known to American audiences as the character Theresa from The Maze Runner film series (Maze Runner, Scorch Trials and The Death Cure). While her British fan-base will recognize her from the edgy British series Skins and the limited series drama Southcliffe.
Spinning Out‘s female lead, Kat Baker has been described as an “incredibly talented skater who suffers a fall that takes her off the competition track.” She eventually partners with “a talented, bad-boy” and becomes a successful skating pair. Her decision causes issues when her deepest secret is at risk of being exposed and may cause her and her partner to fail at achieving their Olympic aspirations.
The premise being very familiar to the 1992 American romantic comedy The Cutting Edge, which was a film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and written by Tony Gilroy. The plot followed a rich and spoiled figure skater played by Moira Kelly, who is begrudgingly paired up with a has-been ice hockey player with a temper (D. B. Sweeney).
Throughout the course of the film after misunderstandings ensue, the two learn to work together and lead to the pair eventually falling in love with each other. In spectacular 90’s fashion, by the film’s end they succeed in competing at the Olympics in Albertville, France as a the representative for the U.S. team in figure skating,.
Tvline initially reported this story.