When Ryan Murphy left 20th Century Fox Television for a whopping $300 million partnership with Netflix, he immediately got to work on delivering the goods; announcing projects including The Politician, a musical political series, and The Prom, an adaptation of the Broadway play. As the project moves forward with its preliminary production, primary cast members have been named for some of the main roles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, everyone from Meryl Streep to Ariana Grande to Keegan Michael-Key have signed on to the project. As Murphy’s shows continue to gain both popular fame and critical acclaim, he has become a sought-after director to work with.
Confirmed cast members include award-winning comedians, musicians, and actors including former collaborators. Others who have been cast so far are Awkwafina, James Corden, Andrew Rannells, and Nicole Kidman. Grande previously worked with Murphy on the short-lived Scream Queens while Streep and Kidman currently star on HBO’s Big Little Lies.
The story has been described as a bit over the top but nonetheless received seven Tony award nominations this year and featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The concept behind the story is a small town in Indiana would rather cancel their prom than let a girl bring her girlfriend to the event. In response, a ragtag group of Broadway eccentrics flock to the town in a publicity stunt in an attempt to fight this clear discrimination on the part of the local PTA.
Streep will play a former Tony winner, Dee Dee Allen while Corden will play her right-hand, Barry Glickman. They’ve recently suffered a personal affront after having their play focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt panned by the New York Times. Awkwafina will play Allen and Glickman’s publicist, Ms. Sheldon. Rannells is set to play Trent Oliver, a hapless actor and Kidman is set to play Angie Dickinson a singer regularly relegated to the chorus, both of whom have nothing better to do. Key is set to portray the local high school principal, and Allen’s love interest. Grande is set to play Alyssa, the daughter of the PTA head and also the girl that Emma, the protagonist wants to bring to the prom. Emma has yet to be cast.
Murphy’s name first started getting big in the 2010s with Glee and American Horror Story, an anthology series which still airs today and has been renewed through season ten. Currently he is most known for Pose, with season two currently airing on FX. As for his upcoming collaborations with Netflix, there is another series with a big name cast in the works, Ratched, a prequel focusing on the iconic nurse in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. The last two publicly announced scripted projects include a forthcoming original series called Hollywood and another adaptation of a Broadway play, The Boys In The Band. Billboard says there are two documentaries in the works as well, but not a lot of information is out about them as of yet.
TV Guide reports that filming for The Prom will begin in December. PRIDE reports that Netflix is aiming for a fall 2020 release.