Hugh Laurie joins HBO's The Trial of Louise Woodward as Judge Zobel
Hugh Laurie has joined the cast of HBO's The Trial of Louise Woodward. He will play Judge Hiller B. Zobel of the Massachusetts Superior Court, who presided over the murder trial. The casting was reported by Deadline on 28 September.
The project is described as a true-crime limited series. A limited series tells one complete, self-contained story across a set number of episodes, with no plan for further seasons. It comes from creator Matthew Barry. It revisits a real case from 1997.
That year, 18-year-old British au pair Louise Woodward was accused of shaking to death a baby in her care. An au pair is a young person who lives with a host family and helps look after children. The case was heard in Massachusetts and drew wide attention in the United States and Britain. HBO's drama follows the trial and the families caught up in it.
Catriona Chandler plays Woodward. The title role puts her at the centre of the story. Joanne Froggatt plays Susan, Woodward's mother.
Meghann Fahy and Sagar Radia play Deborah and Sunil Eappen. They are the parents of baby Matthew Eappen, the child who died. Chloë Sevigny plays Elaine Whitfield Sharp, Woodward's defence attorney, meaning her lawyer in court.
Behind the camera, Barry wrote the series and serves as showrunner, meaning the writer in overall charge of production. A showrunner leads the writers, sets the tone and guides each episode to screen. He is also an executive producer, one of the senior figures who oversees the series creatively and financially.
Susanne Bier will direct all of the episodes, giving the series a single director from start to finish. She executive produces alongside Barry, Frank Spotnitz, Emily Feller, Tobi de Graaff and Antoine Douaihy. Big Light Productions and Anton TV are the production companies behind the series, handling the day-to-day work of making it.
For Laurie, the part is his third project for HBO after Veep and Avenue 5. Both were comedies from Armando Iannucci. This trial drama moves him to a different kind of room, a courtroom.
