Business Insider
In between photos of kids belonging to high school friends you haven’t spoken to in at least a decade, get ready to start watching television on Facebook, too. At least that’s what the social media giant is hoping, as they’ve just signed actress Elizabeth Olsen to star in their first major series.
Olsen will executive produce and star in the new half-hour dramedy, which Facebook has given a 10-episode, straight-to-series order.
Formerly known as The Widow, the untitled series will reportedly star Olsen as a young widow “reconnecting with relationships from her past.”
Interestingly, YouTube Red (another social media player attempting to play in the television sandbox) recently greenlit a similarly-themed dark comedy called Widow.
Kit Steinkellner, a writer on Amazon’s Z: The Beginning of Everything, wrote and created Olsen’s new series, with Switched at Birth creator Lizzy Weiss set to serve as showrunner.
Master of None‘s James Ponsoldt will executive produce the new series and is slated to direct multiple episodes, as well.
The show has actually been in the works for a while and was originally set up at Showtime before Facebook picked it up instead.
It’s one of the first major scripted television shows for the social media company as it makes moves to promote its original video content.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the group we have brought together for this show,” says Olsen. “Kit’s story has been near and dear to me for years and I can’t wait to share our dark, funny, and complicated show with the world.”
Olsen first came to prominence when she earned rave reviews from critics for her starring role in 2011’s Martha Marcy May Marlene.
She’s best known for her role as Scarlet Witch in the Avengers movies and will appear in this summer’s Avengers: Infinity War when it opens on May 4.
