Kathryn Hahn, who starred opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman in the original half-hour pilot for Showtime‘s Happyish that was picked up to series shortly before Hoffman’s shocking death, will return for the project’s new incarnation starring Steve Coogan. Hahn is set to reprise her role as the female lead in the new pilot, directed by Ken Kwapis, which will be filmed in New York next month.
Happyish, described as a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness, centers on Thom Payne (Coogan) – a 44-year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25-year-old “wunderkind” boss arrives. Hahn plays Lee, Thom’s wife and mother to their six-year-old son Julius. Honest and direct to a considerable fault, Lee believes that people are good and the world can be a better place, which is probably why she is so pissed off: because we aren’t, and it can’t. But she loves Thom, and Thom loves her, even though they both loathe themselves. “Lee is fierce while funny, defiant while vulnerable; no one can pull that off as deftly, subtly and sincerely as Kathryn Hahn,” said Happyish creator/executive producer Shalom Auslander. “We’re very lucky to have her. We meaning Earth.”
Kwapis also will executive produce, and his producing partner Alexandra Beattie will co-executive produce, under their In Cahoots banner. Hahn is repped by Gersh, Brillstein Entertainment and James Adams.
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.