Gal Gadot may be best known for her work as Wonder Woman in the DC Cinematic Universe (such as it is), but she's dropping the shield and lasso to play a different kind of hero for a big TV project. Gadot has signed on to play Hedy Lamarr for a Showtime limited series. While Lamarr was known as "the most beautiful woman in the world" as an actress, she also contributed to the world via inventions. Here's what we know about the project so far.
The limited series, which does not yet have a title, will star Gal Gadot as Hedy Lamarr, and Gadot is on board in an executive producing capacity as well. A TV project starring Gadot and covering the life of Lamarr has reportedly been in the works going as far back as August 2018. So, who exactly is Hedy Lamarr and why does she deserve a Showtime series with a big-name star portraying her?
The Austrian-born Hedy Lamarr was an actress who came to Hollywood in 1938, and she starred in films also featuring actors like Judy Garland, Lana Turner, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart, and Clark Gable. Lauded as "the most beautiful woman in the world," she made a big impression on the industry and audiences alike.
Hedy Lamarr was more than a beautiful face and actress, however, with intelligence and ambition that wouldn't allow her to just settle for what she was offered at the time. This prompted her to found her own production company as a woman in the industry, which was pretty much unprecedented.
As if that wasn't enough, Hedy Lamarr was also able to harness her brilliance and creativity to become an inventor, and she patented a "frequency-hopping technology" that influenced Wi-Fi today... back in 1941. Tragically, however, society couldn't accept a woman of her talents and ambition at the time, and she was all but forgotten when she died as a recluse in 2000 is Florida.
The Showtime series will honor Hedy Lamarr's life and legacy as it tackles feminism's rise and fall during the Golden Age of Hollywood as well as World War II. Considering how she managed to impact modern life, the show will also seek to find "clues for who we are now." Hedy Lamarr, while known quite well in certain circles, isn't necessarily a household name. Could the Showtime project give her the attention and credit she deserves that she didn't receive while still alive?
Since the project will be a limited series, we can probably expect to see her story from start to finish when it debuts on Showtime. In addition to Gal Gadot as star and executive producer, the show will feature Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner Sarah Treem of The Affair as writer and executive producer, with Emmy winner Warren Littlefield of The Handmaid's Tale and Fargo also producing.
At the 2019 Summer TCA Press Tour, Showtime Co-President of Entertainment Gary Levine revealed that they just broke the writers room this week, and they're getting the researchers together. Hopefully this means that the project will be as accurate to the life of Hedy Lamarr as possible while still working as a TV show.
I'm also hoping that the show will feature versions of Hedy Lamarr's co-stars, if only to see who Showtime can cast to play the likes of Judy Garland and Clark Gable. Any role for Chris Pine?
Given that the writers room only just broke this week, we can probably expect a long wait before the show kicks off on Showtime. Fortunately, there are plenty of viewing options now and in the not-too-distant future. And hey, at least Gal Gadot will be back as a different kind of female hero with the "mind-blowing" Wonder Woman 1984 next year.
