Naomi Watts has signed on to star in the long-gestating second season of “Feud” at FX, Variety has confirmed with sources.
The second season of the Ryan Murphy anthology series will be based on the book “Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era” by Laurence Leamer. Watts will play famed socialite Barbara “Babe” Paley. Paley was one of several members of New York high society who was a friend of Capote’s until he published excerpts of his unfinished novel “Answered Prayers,” with the excerpts serving as a tell-all about the city’s elite.
Gus Van Sant is onboard to direct the entire eight-episode season. Jon Robin Baitz will write the new season and serve as showrunner. No other cast members are currently attached.
Watts is a two-time Academy Award nominee — first in 2004 for best actress for the film “21 Grams” and again in the same category in 2013 for “The Impossible.” She is also known for starring in films like Peter Jackson’s “King Kong,” “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” and “Mulholland Drive.” She has taken on a number of TV roles in her career, most recently starring as Gretchen Carlson in the Showtime limited series “The Loudest Voice,” about the rise of Fox News and Roger Ailes. She also appeared in the 2017 Showtime followup to “Twin Peaks.”
She is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.
It was originally reported that the new season of “Feud” was meant to focus on Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, though that concept was eventually abandoned. The first season of “Feud” aired back in 2017 and starred Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon. That season focused on the relationship between Joan Crawford (Lange) and Bette Davis (Sarandon) during the making of the 1962 film “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”
Deadline first reported on the new season of “Feud.”
From Variety US