Steve Carell has been cast as a male lead opposite Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston in Apple’s untitled morning show drama series, reports Deadline. It makes his first TV series role since his Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning turn on NBC’s The Office.
The series will explore the behind-the-scenes action of daily morning shows and its players, has officially been ordered to series by Apple for two seasons. Witherspoon and Aniston will both star in and executive-produce the untitled project.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the drama will be executive-produced by Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg, who previously worked on The Leftovers, with Jay Carson (House of Cards) serving as writer and showrunner. Brian Stelter, host of CNN’s Sunday morning program Reliable Sources and author of Top of the Morning, will consult on the series.
Carrell is an American actor, comedian, producer, writer and director known for playing a variety of characters, including Michael Scott on the American version of The Office (2005–2013), on which he also worked as an occasional producer, writer and director. His role as wrestling coach and convicted murderer John Eleuthère du Pont in the drama film Foxcatcher (2014) earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Carrell has also received acclaim for his roles in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Big Short (2015), and Battle of the Sexes (2017), the latter two earning him his eighth and ninth Golden Globe Award nominations, respectively.
