As if we weren’t already ridiculously excited for Aaron Sorkin’s return to TV with cable news drama More As The Story Develops, the cast is shaping up to be a killer buffet platter of talent. And now Emily Mortimer is in negotiations to play the show-within-the-show’s driven executive producer.
According to Deadline, competition for the part was fierce, with Mortimer beating out Marisa Tomei to play MacKenzie, whose job it is to oversee cranky anchor Will McCallister (Jeff Daniels), the man who views his cable show as his own personal kingdom.
Mortimer joins a cast that also now includes Olivia Munn and Scott Pilgrim’s Alison Pill for what we’re seriously hoping will be a blend of The West Wing and Sorkin’s late, lamented and always underrated series Sports Night. Anyone who has happy memories of Felicity Huffman’s Dana Whitaker from the latter show should be breathing a sigh of relief that the similar role in Story haSocial Networks gone to a solid actress like Mortimer.
Paul’s Greg Mottola is returning to his telly roots to call the shots on the pilot, which Sorkin has written and producer Scott Rudin is guiding alongside Six Feet Under veteran Alan Poul for US cable channel HBO. Provided we don’t tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing, this should be one to watch.