Parker Posey to play Dr. Smith in Netflix’s Lost in Space series

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Oh, the pain, the pain of it all! After successfully picking up the rights to Lost in Space and giving it a 10-episode straight-to-series order, the Netflix remake of the classic Irwin Allen TV series has been putting together its cast for the last few months. Toby Stephens (Black Sails) will play John Robinson and Molly Parker (Deadwood) will play Maureen Robinson, with Taylor Russell (Falling Skies) and Maxwell Jenkins (Sense8) playing Judy and Will Robinson respectively. But who could possibly fill the role of the brilliant yet sniveling Dr. Smith?

The nefarious character was played so perfectly by Jonathan Harris in the original series and by Gary Oldman in the 1998 big-screen remake, but it appears that Netflix is giving the character a bit of a gender-swap with the announcement that Parker Posey (BEST IN SHOW) will be playing Dr. Smith in the upcoming series. I can't say that I would have guessed Posey would be the one to fill the role, but as a fan of her work, particularly in Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, I'm excited to see her take on the character. Zack Estrin (Once Upon a Time) has come aboard as showrunner with Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (DRACULA UNTOLD) executive producing the project along with Kevin Burns, Marc Helwig and Neil Marshall, who is also expected to direct a few episodes of the series.

Taking its cues from the original series, the show centers around the Robinson family, who is forced to come together in a time of crisis. Stranded light years from their intended destination, they find themselves battling a strange new alien environment and also their own personal demons. Equal parts family drama and sci-fi adventure, it is a survival story for the ages.

Lost in Space is expected to debut on Netflix in 2018.