Starz’s TV adaptation of the 2018 film Blindspotting has added Helen Hunt (Mad About You, As Good As It Gets) to its cast, according to Deadline. Hunt joins lead Jasmine Cephas Jones (#FreeRayshawn, Dog Days) in the half-hour dramedy.
The series is based on the film written by and starring Rafael Casal (Bad Education, The Good Lord Bird) and Daveed Diggs (blackish, Hamilton) via Deadline. Jones will reprise her role as Ashley, longtime girlfriend of Casal’s Miles. When Miles finds himself incarcerated, Ashley and their son must reluctantly move in with Miles’s mother. Hunt will play the role of Miles’s mother, Rainey.
“It is such an honor to have Helen Hunt in this series,” Casal said via Deadline. “We became friends after she tweeted about her love of the film and we have long looked for project to do together. She has been our first choice for the character Rainey since we dreamed this show up,” Casal said via Deadline.
According to Deadline, the news of Hunt’s addition to the show comes a day after the full cast was announced. The series will star Atticus Woodward (Shameless, 9-1-1: Lone Star), Jaylen Barron (See Dad Run, Good Luck Charlie), and Candace Nicholas-Lippman (Grey’s Anatomy, Good Trouble). Musician Benjamin Earl Turner (Bad Nature, F**K) has been tapped as a cast member and writer for the series. Justin Chu Cary (Black Summer, The Other Way Around) and Casal will appear in recurring roles.
The series is produced through Lionsgate Television with Casal serving as showrunner, according to Deadline. Casal will executive produce along with film producers Jess Wu Calder (The Guest, Corporate Animals) and Keith Calder (The Wackness, You’re Next) of Snoot Entertainment. Barnyard Projects joins the executive producers’ team with Emily Gerson Saines (Temple Grandin, The Courage to Love), Ken Lee (Goose, Dollar Van), and Tim Palen (The Shack, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2). Jones will serve as a producer.