Two Oscar winning actresses have signed on to star in Amy Poehler’s new NBC pilot, now titled Old Soul. Rita Moreno and Ellen Burstyn have signed on to co-star with Orange is the New Black’s Natasha Lyonne.
The project was first announced by NBC last month at the Television Critics Association Press tour. Lyonne will star as a young woman whose business is caring for old people, who are all too ready to share their opinions. It is part of Poehler’s three-year overall deal with the network.
Moreno’s casting was reported by Deadline earlier in the month. Her role sounds tailor-made for Moreno, as she’ll play a woman named Rita who is a Broadway veteran.
Moreno recently published a memoir and appeared on Happily Divorced. The actress is one of the rare owners of an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) and won her Oscar for West Side Story.
As for Burstyn, she joined the project this week, Variety reported. She has been tapped to play Eileen, the lesbian aunt of Lyonne’s character. Eileen has just survived cancer.
Burstyn won her Oscar for Martin Scorsese’s underrated film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and she recently appeared in Flowers in the Attic.
Old Soul was created by Poehler, Josh Bycel and Jonathan Fener and the pilot will be directed by David Wain.
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