Entertainment Weekly - October 25-31

2 | Cover Story

E NTERTAINMENT W EEKLY | O CTOBER 25, 2020

Big drama, small screen: ‘The Undoing’ premieres on HBO

created the recent hit HBOdrama “Big Little Lies,” inwhich Kid- man starred. In fact, her stint on two seasons of “Big Little Lies” led toGoldenGlobe and Emmy wins for the talented actress, who has also had high praise for Kelley’s work on“The Undoing.” “David has created another propulsive series with a fascinat- ing, complicated female role at its center,”Kidman said in an official HBO.com release. Lauded as one of themost suc- cessful actors of her generation, Oscar,GoldenGlobe and Emmy winner Kidman first came to the attention ofAmerican audiences in such films as“Days ofThun- der” (1990) and“Far andAway” (1992).TheAustralian actor went on to appear in such blockbusters as“Batman Forever” (1995) and “Moulin Rouge!” (2001),while also earning praise for her perfor- mances inmore serious fare such as her role asVirginiaWoolf in “The Hours” (2002), the role that earned her anOscar. Apparently, her co-star Grant wasn’t so quick to sign on to “The Undoing”because he had already decided to quit acting. Earlier inOctober, Kidman ex- plained toAustralia’s the Sunday Telegraph that she practically had to beg him to play the part of her husband in the series.The dramatic rolemarks a departure from the kinds of roles he rose to fame playing in romantic comedies such as“FourWed- dings and a Funeral,” (1994) and “Notting Hill” (1999), however Grant has proven he’s far from one-dimensional, thanks to other dramatic turns in“Sense and Sensibility” (1995),“Florence

By Kyla Brewer TVMedia A smovie theaters struggle to survive in thewake of shut- downs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, fansmissing their fa- vorite Hollywood stars find them- selves turning to television to fill the void. Luckily, a fewof the in- dustry’s biggest talents are head- ed to the small screen in a grip- ping drama that will keep view- ers guessing. AcademyAwardwinner Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”) stars as Grace Fraser, a therapist who discovers that her seemingly idyl- lic lifemay be far fromperfect in thewake of a shocking death in “The Undoing,”premiering Sun- day,Oct. 25, on HBO. Based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel “You Should Have Known,”the six- part thriller also stars HughGrant (“Notting Hill,”1999) as Grace’s husband, Jonathan, and Donald Sutherland (“MASH,”1970) as her father, Franklin Renner. When the series opens,Grace becomes fascinatedwith an- other mom fromher son’s school. Shortly thereafter, tragedy strikes the school community, setting off a chain of events that leads Grace to questionwhether she really knewher now-missing husband as she deals with a very public disaster.All thewhile, she tries to come to terms with the fact that she’s failed to heed her own advice as she struggles to rebuild a life for her family. The storywas adapted for the small screen by 11-time Emmy winner David E. Kelley (“AllyMc- Beal”), and this isn’t the first time he’s workedwith Kidman.He

Nicole Kidman as seen in “The Undoing”

Foster Jenkins” (2016) and the BBCminiseries“AVery English Scandal.” Kidman andGrant are joined onscreen in“The Undoing”by a veritable entertainment industry legend,with Sutherland as wid- owed financier Franklin.With more than five decades of experi- ence in film, Sutherland is often regarded as one of themost tal- ented actors to have never been nominated for an Oscar, though hewas honoredwith theAcad- emy HonoraryAward in 2017. Over the course of his career, he’s appeared in the now-classic films“The Dirty Dozen” (1967), “MASH” (1970),“Klute” (1971), “Animal House” (1978) and“Or- dinary People” (1980).Hewas also seen in“JFK” (1991),“A

Time to Kill” (1996) and“Cold Mountain” (2003),which starred Kidman as well. “The Undoing”also stars Edgar Ramírez (“Zero Dark Thirty,”2012) as NYPDDet. Joe Mendoza,who rattles Grace as she tries to cooperatewith the in- vestigation. Some action-movie fansmay remember theVenezu- elan actor as CIA assassin Paz in “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), but Ramírez hasmore recently garnered acclaim for his portrayal of GianniVersace in FX’s“The Assassination of GianniVersace: American Crime Story.” The rest of the cast includes young actor Noah Jupe (“Won- der,”2017) as Grace and Jonathan’s son,Henry, Lily Rabe (“American Horror Story”) as Syl-

via Steineitz,Norma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns,”2018) as Haley Fitzgerald, Sofie Gråbøl (“The Killing”) as Catherine Stamper,Matilda DeAngelis (“The Prize,”2017) as Elena Alves, and Ismael Cruz Córdova (“Ray Donovan”) as Fernando Alves. Behind the scenes, Danish director Susanne Bier took the reins for all six episodes of the series. She’s best known in NorthAmerica for her work on the film“Bird Box” (2018) and theTV miniseries “The Night Manager.” Fans are likely happy “The Undoing” is finally making its way to the screen. Unlike a lot of other series, it has survived the COVID-19 pandemic despite

a delay in its premiere.The thriller was originally slated to premiere on May 10, but in late March HBO confirmed the series would move to the fall instead. Although this fallTV season may not have as many new tele- vision shows,movies or special events, series such as this offer a glimmer of hope for those of us who desire quality entertain- ment on the small screen.While the silver screen has offered fans the crème de la crème of enter- tainment for years, television is becoming home to content that is just as good, if not better— especiallywhen it features the likes of Kidman and her co-stars. Watch her unravel as Grace Fra- ser in“The Undoing,”premiering Sunday,Oct. 25, on HBO.

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