Nancy Lenehan has been cast as a lead in ABC’s new “Drop Off” (working title) pilot. The series is based on BBC’s hit parenting comedy “Motherland.” Lenehan will star opposite Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt).
Karan Soni (Deadpool franchise), Judy Greer (Reboot) and Michaela Conlin (Dollface) also star in the project.
“Drop Off” centers on Julia (Kemper), a working mom for whom nothing is working so she goes looking for her village. With the help of new friends Calvin (Soni) and Liz (Conlin), Julia discovers she just might succeed at balancing work and parenting from time to time. This is a comedy for anybody who’s dropped their kids at school, breathed a sigh of relief … then realized it’s Sunday.
According to Deadline, Lenehan will play Marianne. Warm, loving, responsible, the kind of person who has rocks in her garden with platitudes chiseled on them, Marianne is Julia’s mother, who’s been taking care of her kids since the oldest was a baby — and that’s six years now. Having been a working single mom herself, Marianne is not without compassion for Julia’s situation and she loves her grandchildren, but she’s done. Marianne has decided to live her own life from now on, and that includes having an affair with a guy named Rene and firmly taking some time for herself.
Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) serves as an executive producer and director. Julieanne Smolinski is attached to write and executive produce.
Kemper executive produces alongside Sharon Horgan, Clelia Mountford, Stacy Greenberg, Kira Carstensen for Merman Television. Paul Feig, Dan Magnante through Feigco Entertainment. Holly Walsh and Helen Serafinowicz also executive produce.
Lionsgate and ABC Signature are the studios.
The show first premiered on BBC Two in 2016 and has grown into one of the U.K.’s most successful contemporary comedies. Season 3 aired in 2021, and a Christmas special went out in December. The show also won the BAFTA for best scripted comedy in 2022.
Lenehan’s credits include Prime Video’s A League Of Their Own, the HBO Max series Generation, ABC’s Bless This Mess, and HBO’s Veep.
Source: Deadline