Long Bright River: Amanda Seyfried to star in suspense thriller series for Peacock

Amanda Seyfried – whose credits include The Dropout, Mank, You Should Have Left, Mamma Mia!, Big Love, Jennifer’s Body, Veronica Mars, the original Mean Girls, and much more – has signed on to star in the suspense thriller limited series Long Bright River for the Peacock streaming service. The series is based on Liz Moore’s bestselling novel of the same name, and Deadline reports that word of this project leaked out after Seyfried and Moore were spotted taking a ride-along with the 26th District Police in Philadelphia earlier this week.

Long Bright River will see Seyfried taking on the role of Mickey, a police officer who patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood hard-hit by the opioid crisis. When a series of murders begins in the neighborhood, Mickey realizes that her personal history might be related to the case.  

Moore’s novel (pick up a copy HERE) has the following description: In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don’t speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling. Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey’s district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit–and her sister–before it’s too late. Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters’ childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.

The series is coming our way from Sony Pictures Television and UCP. Seyfried is executive producing the show with Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, and Amanda Lewis of Original Film and Amy Pascal of Pascal Pictures. Moore is also an executive producer and is writing the series with Nikki Toscano, who has had writing credits on multiple TV shows, including Revenge, Bates Motel, 24: Legacy, Hunters, and The Offer. Also executive producing is Hagar Ben-Asher (Dead Women Walking), director of the first episode.

Moore and Toscano provided the following statement: “We are thrilled that Amanda Seyfried will lead this series about how those initially perceived as victims can band together to regain their power. Moore’s family history and her work with harm-reduction and community-service organizations in Philadelphia informed the series, which aims to portray with compassion the lives of those struggling with addiction and the family members who love them.“

Are you interested in Long Bright River? What do you think of Amanda Seyfried taking the lead? Let us know by leaving a comment below.