This is what she's missing Edinburgh for

Lolly Adefope is to star opposite Saturday Night Live‘s Aidy Bryant in a new American comedy.

She starts shooting her role in Shrill in Portland, Oregon, this week. Landing the job is the reason why she had to abandon her planned run at the Edinburgh Fringe, as revealed by Chortle in June.

Bryant stars  as Annie, a struggling would-be journalist dealing with bad boyfriends, sick parents and a perfectionist boss – but primarily determined to show the world that they are wrong to judge her based her weight. Adefope plays Fran, Annie’s best friend and roommate. 

Luka Jones plays Ryan, Annie’s boyfriend, Ian Owens is Amadi, Annie’s co-worker, and John Cameron Mitchell plays Gabe, Annie’s boss, according to US website Deadline.

The series – to air on Hulu – is based on Lindy West’s bestselling 2016 memoir, Shrill: Notes From A Loud Woman, and is being made by SNL boss Lorne Michaels’s company, Broadway Video.

This is Adefope’s second American TV role after Miracle Workers, a workplace sitcom set in Heaven, in which she stars alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi.

Buscemi is God and Adefope his disgruntled assistant, Rosie, who ‘hates her job because [God is] a moron… She did all the training to get to this executive position and then has no use for any of her talents and skills.’ 

Radcliffe plays Craig, a low-level angel responsible for dealing with humanity's prayers,  in the seven-part TBS comedy which is due to air soon.

Adefope also appears in the upcoming James Bond spoof, The Spy Who Dumped Me, starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon (another SNL star), which is released in US cinemas today and will hit UK screens on August 22.

She previously starred in the Channel 4 social work comedy Damned, web millionaire sitcom Loaded and Sky football comedy Rovers.

Published: 3 Aug 2018