Rita Wilson (Too Much) has landed a key role in How to Survive Without Me, HBO Max‘s one-hour drama pilot from Berlanti Productions and studio Warner Bros. Television.
Wilson will play the role of Beverly. Elegant and loving, with an authority earned through wisdom and experience, Beverly is a prolific writer-director and a matriarch who sees her family as her greatest accomplishment. She ultimately loses her battle with cancer, but in true Beverly fashion, she finds a way to keep her family connected as they work through the grief of losing their mother.
The HBO Max pilot picks up in the wake of matriarch Beverly’s passing, as the De Angelis family have begun to drift, unsure how to manage their complicated, evolving lives without her guidance. Should they wish to experience Beverly’s final work, the family must find the time — and make the effort — to remain connected and be there for each other through all of life’s challenges yet to come.
Wilson joins a cast including the previously announced Ray Romano, Joshua Jackson, Kaley Cuoco, Julia Schlaepfer, Jack Ball, Kylar Miranda, and Julian Grey.
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EP/Writer Greg Berlanti said, “I was partially inspired to create How to Survive Without Me after losing my mother to cancer — wanting to explore grief, love, and what it means for a family to move forward after losing the matriarch at its center. Rita Wilson has brought a singular warmth, emotional intelligence, and strength to everything she’s ever done, and I can’t think of anyone better to be at the center of this show’s family. We are thrilled for her to join Ray Romano, Josh Jackson, Kaley Cuoco and the rest of this dream cast we’ve been lucky enough to assemble.”
Said Sarah Aubrey, Head of Max Original Programming, “Rita Wilson is an extraordinary talent and the perfect actor to anchor this story. We’re proud to welcome her to the incredible cast of HOW TO SURIVE WITHOUT ME.”
Clancy Collins White, Warner Bros. Television’s President of Creative Affairs, added, “The role of Beverly is essential to the fabric of How to Survive Without Me, and we are overjoyed to welcome the incomparable Rita Wilson. Her ability to bring emotional nuance and gravitas makes her uniquely suited to anchor the De Angelis family, and we couldn’t imagine a more fitting collaborator to join Greg and Bash in shaping this world.”
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Written by Berlanti and Bash Doran, with story by Berlanti, Doran and Robbie Rogers, How to Survive Without Me is exec produced by Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, and Robbie Rogers via Berlanti Productions and its overall deal w/WBTV).
Known for roles in classic films like Sleepless in Seattle, Mixed Nuts, and That Thing You Do!, Wilson recently appeared alongside Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe in the Netflix series Too Much from Lena Dunham and Luis Felber. Previously seen on television in Dunham’s Girls, plus series like Full Circle and The Good Wife, she’s also recently been seen in Apple TV’s The Last Thing He Told Me and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. She is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.
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