Mark Duplass Joins Hulu's Victoria as Berkeley Gene-Editing Professor
Mark Duplass has joined Hulu's Victoria opposite Li Jun Li and Diane Lane.
The casting, reported by Deadline, completes the central trio of the limited series — meaning it is designed to tell one closed story rather than return for multiple seasons. Duplass was the latest addition, after Li and Lane were previously announced.
Duplass will play William Holbrook, a University of California, Berkeley professor working in gene editing. His research has made him a sought-after figure in Silicon Valley, and his mentoring of young scientists has earned him their devotion, according to Variety.
That puts him in the orbit of Maxine Tao, played by Li. Maxine is a con artist who enters the venture capital world after a chance encounter hands her the grift of a lifetime. The show is set in San Francisco and described as an erotic thriller. A seductive killer who knows Maxine's secrets is also part of the story.
Diane Lane plays Lee Calloway, the venture capitalist at the centre of that world. She is described as savvy and accustomed to getting what she wants.
Behind the camera, Victoria was created and written by Christy Hall. Hall also serves as showrunner — the person in day-to-day charge of the series — and executive producer. Geeta Vasant Patel is directing the pilot, the first episode made to launch the production, and is an executive producer on that episode.
The series hails from Onyx Collective and Counterpart Studios. Lilly Burns, Elise Henderson and Tony Hernandez are executive producers for Counterpart Studios. Li is a co-producer in addition to starring.
Duplass is best known to television audiences for Apple TV's The Morning Show, in which he continues to star. He received Emmy nominations for the role in 2020 and 2024, and Golden Globe nominations for the same part. He co-created HBO's Togetherness with his brother Jay Duplass and recently appeared in Kane Parsons' horror film Backrooms.
What makes this stand out is the mix of jobs on screen. A professor, a con artist and a venture capitalist. That is the setup. Hulu has not yet announced a premiere date.
