The Oscar and Emmy winner will investigate a murder in Mare of Easttown, her first TV project since 2011’s Mildred Pierce, also at HBO.
After appearing on the small screen almost eight years ago, in Mildred Pierce, Kate Winslet and HBO are once again teaming up for a new TV project, called Mare of Easttown. This will be Winslet’s first television role since the 2011 miniseries [Mildred Pierce], for which she won an Emmy.
For the upcoming series, according to Deadline, the actress will be seen essaying the role of a “small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder at a time when her own life is crumbling around her.”
Reports suggest that Winslet will both executive produce and star in the limited series, which is a co-production between HBO and the independent studio Wiip. Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby, who is known for writing films such as Out of the Furnace, Run All Night, American Woman, will co-executive produce and also serve as show-runner, with Gavin O’Connor (Tumbleweeds, Warrior, Seven Seconds, The Americans) set to produce and direct all episodes.
Kate Winslet’s move to star in an HBO miniseries follows that of her fellow Oscar nominees Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies) and Amy Adams (Sharp Objects). However, the plot sounds more similar to True Detective, currently starring another Oscar winner—Mahershala Ali.
Although Kate Winslet is far better known for her film work, she has appeared on television a few times in the past. Apart from the 2011 Mildred Pierce, she also starred in the British sitcom Get Back and the British teen sci-fi series Dark Season in the early 1990s, just a few years before her film breakout with projects like Heavenly Creatures and, of course, Titanic.
Kate Winslet has been nominated for seven Academy Awards throughout her career. She won the award for best actress in 2008 for The Reader. She was also nominated for her work in films like Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and most recently Steve Jobs.
In one of her earlier interviews, Winslet said that the experience of filming a miniseries was more difficult than filming a movie. “Film, schmilm—film is almost like a holiday in comparison to television,” she told Radio Times, pointing to time constraints and smaller budgets.
Mare of Easttown is the latest in a line of limited series projects to draw high-level talent to HBO. Whether or not playing a detective could earn Winslet even more recognition, remains to be seen, but it seems like a promising bet.
– With information from Deadline and Variety.
