Nicole Kidman is officially back in the TV business with Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty, starring in the upcoming adaptation of Nine Perfect Strangers.
Based on Moriarty’s eighth novel of the same name, Variety explains that the series takes place at “a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation as nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living. Watching over them during this ten-day retreat is the resort’s director Masha, a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. However, these nine ‘perfect’ strangers have no idea what is about to hit them.”
In addition to the homegrown Oscar winner, Nine Perfect Strangers has been produced by Kidman’s Big Little Lies collaborators, executive producers Bruna Papandrea (Big Little Lies, Gone Girl), and David E. Kelley.
To sweeten the deal, the cast is packed full of iconic stars. Kidman will assume the character of “Masha” the facilities enigmatic (and slightly deranged) director, described as a woman, “on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies.”
“I’m so very happy and thrilled to once again be working with Nicole, Per, and Bruna,” said Moriarty told The Hollywood Reporter.“They are such talented, passionate people and I have no doubt that whatever they do with my Nine Perfect Strangers, it will be brilliant.”
The series will officially air in Australia on Amazon Prime Video on August 18, 2021, so mark your diaries.
In January 2020, Deadline reported that Academy Award nominee Melissa McCarthy both stars in and executive produces the series. McCarthy is reportedly playing “Frances”, who in the novel is described as a “down-on-her-luck romance novelist whose publisher has rejected her latest manuscript.”
As we can see from the trailer, joining both Kidman and McCarthy is Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, Melvin Gregg, Grace Van Patten, Tiffany Boone and Manny Jacinto, as well as Australian actresses Asher Keddie and Samara Weaving.
On May 27, 2020, Deadline also reported that Jacinto will play “Yao”, who is described as a “bright-eyed man-kid with a hipster vibe”. After he and Kidman’s character encounter a life and death experience, Yao becomes her right-hand man at the resort. Reportedly, Yao is “deeply committed” to the unorthodox techniques of the resort and “entirely in (Masha’s) thrall.”
Finally, we also an official trailer for Kidman’s upcoming series, and it’s creepy (to say the least).
WATCH BELOW: Nine Perfect Strangers Official Trailer
Following the success of HBO’s Big Little Lies, which earned Kidman an Emmy and Golden Globe for her role in the limited series, Moriarty’s material has been highly sought after in Hollywood.
Eager for Nine Perfect Strangers? Take a look at the original novel below, while you patiently await the new series:
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, $29.99 from booktopia.com.au
