It has been a while since Melissa McCarthy has starred in a series regular role on television. In fact, The Kitchen star’s latest regular TV role was on CBS’ sitcom, Mike and Molly. It ended in 2016 after six seasons. Fast forward, almost four years later, and McCarthy is headed back via Nicole Kidman’s new show, Nine Perfect Strangers.
Talk about fantastic casting! Deadline reports that Melissa McCarthy will star in and executive produce the Hulu adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers. The show is a re-team of sorts between Nicole Kidman and Moriarty, who also wrote the novel-turned-series Big Little Lies. Like the HBO series originally was, Nine Perfect Strangers is currently set to be a limited series on Hulu. So, who is McCarthy playing?
Understanding the setup of the series will help provide the necessary context to better answer that question. Nine Perfect Strangers is set at a boutique health-and-wellness resort. Cue nine people from the city ready to take advantage of the healing powers the resort has to offer over a ten-day stretch. McCarthy will take on the role of Francis, who is one of the nine city slickers.
The wonderous Melissa McCarthy seems bound to share scenes with Nicole Kidman thanks to their characters’ respective paths. Kidman is set to play the director of the resort, Masha. So, Masha will be the one overseeing McCarthy and her fellow strangers' efforts to revive themselves. I do not know about you, but this sounds incredibly exciting to me!
Melissa McCarthy and Nicole Kidman co-starring in a television series with a compelling storyline as the backdrop? I'm not sure it gets any better than this. While it is not Big Little Lies Season 3, it will mark Kidman taking another dive into Liane Moriarty’s world following her recent run as Celeste in the HBO adaptation.
Nine Perfect Strangers is currently set to be a one-shot. However, Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy’s involvement hints at potential hit status for Hulu. If it ends up pulling a Big Little Lies and spreading its wings for a second time, let us hope it learns a valuable lesson and avoids the not-so-little problem the HBO series faced when it prepared to return. Hint: not saving the set pieces.
Nicole Kidman will reportedly rake in $1 million per episode of Nine Perfect Strangers. Leveraging that investment, the drama will be co-written by Big Little Lies’ creator David E. Kelley, John Henry Butterworth, and Samantha Strauss. Kelley and Butterworth will also serve as co-showrunners on the limited series. Kidman and Kelley will both executive produce the drama with Melissa McCarthy, Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories, and Endeavor Content.
It will be a while before Hulu subscribers get to see Melissa McCarthy and Nicole Kidman share the screen in Nine Perfect Strangers. When they do, it should be worth the wait. Both actors have quite the range, in my opinion, so seeing them costar in a series should be a lot of fun. Kidman and McCarthy both have sharp comedy and drama skills, which have served them well in their respective careers.
The scenario certainly gives both of them a lot of potential. It will be thrilling to learn who ends up joining the rest of the cast. With Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy on board, it should certainly draw a lot of interested parties. This sounds like a character-driven piece that should entice talent and viewers. Nine Perfect Strangers will remain a stranger for a while longer.
Nine Perfect Strangers is currently thought to premiere in 2021 on Hulu. While you anxiously await its arrival, you can check out this winter’s premieres.
