Hulu's "Chicks" Pilot Adds Three Cast Members and a Director as Pompeo-Whittaker Family Crime Dramedy Takes Shape
Three more actors have joined the Hulu pilot "Chicks," rounding out the central family at the heart of a new dramedy starring Ellen Pompeo and Jodie Whittaker as estranged half-sisters who turn to fraud after their father's death leaves them a legacy of two-bit crime. Deadline reported the casting on 18 August 2026.
Jason Schmidt, Julia Lester, and Piper Runge have signed on to the main cast, each playing a member of the younger generation caught up in the sisters' increasingly audacious schemes. The pilot is a pilot — meaning Hulu has ordered a single episode to evaluate before deciding whether to commission a full series.
Schmidt plays Sally, Jr., nicknamed "The Squirt," a finance bro described as having the heart of a golden retriever. Lester takes on Sinead, freshly released from prison after several OUI convictions (operating under the influence), and ready to help her mother Doreen — played by Whittaker. Runge rounds out the trio as Lori, a sharp nursing student who takes after her mother Chickie, played by Pompeo.
Max Winkler has joined as director and executive producer of the pilot. Katie Robbins, whose credits include the Hulu limited series "Good American Family," serves as writer and executive producer. The project grew out of conversations between Robbins and Pompeo on the set of that earlier series, with Robbins developing the original idea specifically for the actress.
The show is set in the rapidly gentrifying neighbourhoods of old Boston — a backdrop that places the family's small-time cons against a city in the middle of transformation. Pompeo and Robbins executive produce alongside Laura Holstein, Robbins' partner at their production company Calamity Jane.
For viewers, the pilot stage means "Chicks" is not yet a guaranteed series. Hulu will film the episode, evaluate it, and then decide whether to order a full season. Many pilots never make it past this point. But the assembled talent — a veteran television lead in Pompeo, a BAFTA-winning actress in Whittaker, and a director in Winkler whose work spans film and television — signals a serious investment from the platform.
What gives the project its texture is the family dynamic at its core. Two half-sisters, separated and brought back together by death, passing their questionable inheritance down to a generation that includes an ex-con, a finance bro, and a nursing student. The premise leans into dramedy territory — a tone that has found receptive audiences on streaming platforms, where genre blending has become standard rather than exception.
Schmidt is represented by Luber Roklin and Gersh. Lester is represented by Paradigm, Perennial Entertainment, and Zifferin. Winkler is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Jackoway Austen. All casting and production details were reported by Deadline on 18 August 2026.
A pilot order is the first step in a long process. Whether "Chicks" earns a series pickup will depend on how the finished episode lands with Hulu's decision-makers — and, ultimately, with audiences.
