From virtual Real Housewives reunions to America’s Got Talent auditions, the way that we watch entertainment has completely changed in the past few months. Many movies, like Wonder Woman 1984 and In The Heights have both been pushed back (to October of this year and 2021 respectively) and it has left many of us wondering how we would be receiving new content, both theatrically and in our homes. Thankfully, Paul Rudnick and HBO have found an inventive way to bring their latest collaboration, Coastal Elites to fruition.
A production that was originally crafted as a play for the Public Theater in New York, it has now shifted to a 90 minute HBO special. HBO has stated filming was completed earlier this summer while following all quarantine guidelines. Coastal Elites was written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach, and it “spotlights five distinct and impassioned points of vide across the United States” during the seemingly endless pandemic.
The cast includes (direct from HBO):
* Miriam Nessler (Bette Midler) is a long-time teacher in the New York City public school system, who loves her students, the New York Times and the theater… and who finds herself in police custody.
* Sharynn Tarrows (Kaitlyn Dever) is a young nurse from Wyoming who flies to New York to volunteer at a hospital at the height of the area’s COVID-19 crisis.
* Mark Hesterman (Dan Levy) is a young actor in West Hollywood videoconferencing with his therapist at a moment of peak career and personal stress.
* Clarissa Montgomery (Sarah Paulson) is a YouTube personality filming Episode 28 of her Mindful Meditations, hoping to soothe, inspire and heal her followers.
* Callie Josephson (Issa Rae) is a well-connected philanthropist whose prep school network leads her to the highest levels of government.
As for the possibility that we may see the characters again?-it is a distinct possibility. Rudnick is not ruling out the possibility of a second season of Coastal Elites at some point. As the election approaches and the world remains in tumult, “there will always be more to write about,” he says. “I’ll keep reacting and we’ll see what happens next; I’m terrified of what happens next.”
“Coastal Elites” airs on HBO on Saturday, September 12th at 8/7c