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Nostalgic
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Choked Up
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For the first time since a 2001 guest-starring role on the Fox animated series King of the Hill, Renee Zellweger is doing television. The Oscar-winning actress plays the mysterious central figure in What/If, a new Netflix series created by Mike Kelley, with a pilot episode directed by Phillip Noyce. As revealed in the first-look video and photos below, the series is packed with dark sexy moments, as money, power, and desire collide.
Netflix’s official description of What / If is as follows: “Neo-noir social thriller What / If explores the ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people start doing unacceptable things. The season focuses on a mysterious woman’s lucrative but dubious offer to a cash-strapped pair of San Francisco newlyweds.”
While Zellweger did some TV movie work early in her career, What / If is her first real series regular role, featuring the star as a venture capitalist who likes playing games with people. Two of those people are Lisa (Jane Levy, most memorable as the young star of ABC’s comedy series Suburgatory and the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead) and Blake Jenner (an actor featured heavily in the Fox musical drama Glee).
Kelley, who previously created the ABC drama Revenge, is also behind the writing for What / If, and wrote in a letter addressed to critics: “I’ve spent the best part of my career creating television that explores the dramatic ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people do unacceptable things, and the power of a single fateful decision to change the trajectory of an entire life. What / If takes this narrative approach and injects it into a self-contained 10-episode neo-noir thriller, with a tone that harkens back to the high-octane Adrien Lyne/Joe Eszerthas filmic brand of sex, murder, and deceit.”
Appropriately enough, Noyce, whose early films include thrillers like Sliver, Clear and Present Danger, and Patriot Games, has focused on a healthy mix of TV and film in recent years, and previously directed the pilot for Revenge.
The full first season of What / If premieres Friday, May 24 on Netflix. Check out the teaser video above.
