HBO has brought on board three familiar faces to take recurring roles on their upcoming series Family Tree. The trio of well-known actors to book recurring roles on the show are Ed Begley, Jr., Michael McKean, and Fred Willard, who seems to be recovering from the scandal that lost him a couple of gigs elsewhere. Also joining the series in a guest role is Don Lake.
THR says the Christopher Guest comedy stars Chris O’Dowd of Bridesmaids as Tom, a recently dumped and unemployed 30-year-old man who inherits a strange box from his great aunt, a woman he never met. The contents of the box leads him down a path of self-discovery as he learns more about his family and as a result, himself. All four of the newly added faces have worked with Guest on past projects including his quirky hit films Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, so it’s not really surprising they’re being tapped for this new series. The show is described as a documentary-style comedy, which sounds just about right coming from Christopher Guest.
Ed Begley Jr. has stepped into the role of Tom’s Uncle Andy, while Willard will play said Uncle’s neighbor. McKean is set to play Tom’s father. Finally, Don Lake will guest as a friend of one of Tom’s cousins. Family Tree skipped the pilot process and went straight to a series order, a vote of confidence in Guest’s abilities. They’ll produce eight half-hour episodes that will also air simultaneously overseas on BBC2.
