Like Nicole Kidman and her “Big Little Lies” co-star, Reese Witherspoon seems to have realized most adult-centric content has moved to television. Having already done “Big Little Lies” for HBO, “The Morning Show” for Apple, and “Little Fires Everywhere” for Hulu, Witherspoon is spreading about the wealth and doing a new comedy series, “All Stars” for Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service. It’s also arguably the first time she’s done a comedy since 2017’s “Home Again,” but more on that in a second.
The show comes from screenwriter/director/producer Aline Brosh McKenna, known for writing “The Devil Wears Prada,” “27 Dresses,” and “We Bought A Zoo.” Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, McKenna is making her feature-length directorial debut this year, a romantic comedy called “Your Place or Mine,” for Netflix starring, you guessed it, Reese Witherspoon (Ashton Kutcher, Zoë Chao co-star, and it arrives in February).
So clearly, that collaboration and more is in store with “All Stars.” Set in the world of cheerleading, Amazon outbid all others and already has given a two-season, straight-to-series order, according to THR. “All Stars” centers on a former cheerleader (Witherspoon) who cons her way across the Atlantic to teach cheerleading at a school in England. Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production banner will produce.
“I’ve been looking for a project that brought our Hello Sunshine mission to make women the heroes of their own stories to a younger generation for a long time,” Witherspoon said in a statement. “When I saw this story, I immediately knew this idea would do just that. The idea of watching an American woman coming to share the very American sport of cheerleading to a group of young women in the U.K. just made me so excited! I love that this show is filled with real heart, deep joy, and the power of teamwork. I can’t wait to partner with the brilliant, hilarious, and talented Aline McKenna yet again to create a truly original comedic character, and with the team at Amazon whose passion for this project was unparalleled.”
No word on when this one airs but given her busy schedule, you might want to pencil this one into 2024 to be safe. Witherspoon seems to be back in comedy mode, having recently signed up to star in an “Election” sequel from director Alexander Payne.