EXCLUSIVE: Atypical star Keir Gilchrist, Elizabeth Marvel (Homeland) and Tom Pelphrey (Ozark) are set as series regulars alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons, Patrick Fugit and Lily Rabe in HBO Max’s Love and Death, a limited series about the true story of Texas housewife Candy Montgomery’s murder of Betty Gore in 1980.
Written by Kelley and directed by Homeland‘s Lesli Linka Glatter, Love and Death is inspired by the book Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs and a collection of articles from Texas Monthly (“Love & Death In Silicon Prairie,” Part I & II).
The series revolves around two churchgoing couples enjoying small-town family life in Wylie, until somebody picks up an ax. The couples are Candy (Olsen) and Pat Montgomery (Fugit) and Betty (Rabe) and Allan Gore (Plemons).
Gilchrist will play Pastor Ron Adams; Marvel will portray Pastor Jackie Ponder; and Pelphrey is Don Crowder.
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Kelley executive produces via his David E. Kelley Productions, with Kidman and Per Saari via Blossom Films; Glatter; Scott Brown and Megan Creydt through Texas Monthly; Matthew Tinker; Michael Klick and Helen Verno. Lionsgate TV is the studio.
Gilchrist recently wrapped the fourth and final season of the Peabody-nominated Netflix dramedy Atypical. His film credits include Castle in the Ground, It’s Kind of a Funny Story from Captain Marvel helmers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, It Follows, and The Stanford Prison Experiment. He’s repped by ICM Partners; Thruline Entertainment; Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler, Feldman & Clark; and ART.
Marvel’s role reunites her with Glatter, with whom she worked on Homeland. Marvel has also booked a guest-starring role on Hulu limited series The Dropout. Her previous credits include a starring role on Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories and she was most recently seen in a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU. She’s repped by Innovative Artists and Viking Entertainment.
Pelphrey is a series regular on Ozark, which is heading into its fourth and final season on Netflix. He’s also known for his role as Ward Meachum on both seasons of Marvel’s Iron Fist on Netflix. On the big screen, he was most recently seen in the Oscar-winning feature Mank. He’s repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.