The Handmaid's Tale star drops out of upcoming role for surprising reason

Publish date: 2024-05-28

The actress was due to star in a new true-crime series

The Handmaid’s Tale star Elizabeth Moss has dropped out of Hulu's upcoming true-crime series due to scheduling conflicts. Elizabeth was due to star as the lead role but will now be replaced by actress Jessica Biel. 

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The new series will see Jessica play Candy Montgomery, a devout Christian who seemingly had the perfect life until she killed her close friend and neighbour, Betty Gore, with an axe.

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The official synopsis reads: "The series is set in 1980 Texas, where Candy Montgomery seemingly had it all — a loving husband with a good job, a daughter and a son, a nice house in the brand new suburbs — so why did she kill her friend from church?"

The real-life story made headlines in the early 80s, revealing that Candy was having an affair with Betty's husband Allan, which ended a few months before Betty’s death.

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Candy was ultimately found not guilty of murder after claiming that Betty had attacked her with an axe after confronting her about the affair.

Jessica and her producing partner, Michelle Purple, will executive produce the show through their company Iron Ocean while Michael Uppendahl, known for his work on and , will direct the pilot.

Jessica Biel will replace Elizabeth Moss in new series 

The team behind the Hulu true-crime series will come together for the new series. Nick Antosca, one of the creators of will act as executive producer joined by Robin Veith who will also write the pilot.

star Elizabeth Olson is also due to play the role of Candy Montgomery in HBO Max’s series , a show that will be executive produced by Nicole Kidman and David E. Kelley (). 

s Lily Rabe, s Jesse Plemons and ’s Patrick Fugit will also join the cast of the new HBO Max series. 

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