Chloë Sevigny Joins HBO's The Trial of Louise Woodward as Defence Lawyer
Chloë Sevigny has joined HBO's The Trial of Louise Woodward as defence attorney Elaine Whitfield Sharp.
The casting was reported as an exclusive by Deadline on 18 September 2026. An exclusive, in trade terms, means the details were given to a single outlet first. Sevigny completes a central piece of the courtroom line-up. She plays the lawyer defending the young woman at the centre of the case.
The limited series, meaning a drama designed to tell one self-contained story in a single season, stars Catriona Chandler in the title role of Louise Woodward. Joanne Froggatt plays Susan, Louise Woodward's mother. Meghann Fahy and Sagar Radia play Deborah and Sunil Eappen, the parents of Matthew Eappen. The casting puts both families on screen. One family stands behind the accused. The other stands behind the child.
The series was created by Matthew Barry, who also serves as showrunner, writer and executive producer. A showrunner leads the writers' room and makes the day-to-day creative calls across a season. As writer, Barry scripts the drama. As executive producer, a senior credit that usually involves steering the production creatively and financially, he shares oversight of the whole project.
Susanne Bier directs all episodes and is also an executive producer. Having one director across every episode is common on limited series. It keeps the look and tone consistent from start to finish. Additional executive producers are Frank Spotnitz, Emily Feller, Tobi de Graaff and Antoine Douaihy, according to the report.
Big Light Productions and Anton TV are the production companies behind the series. Production companies are the businesses that hire the crew, manage the shoot and deliver the finished episodes. They are making the show for HBO, which will be the originating network that airs it first.
For viewers, this means the main players are now set. The title role is cast. Both sets of parents are cast. The defence counsel is cast. No episode count or transmission date was given in the casting report. Those details usually follow once production is under way.
