Her character in Shining Vale is either depressed... or possessed by a demon

Courteney Cox is to star in a new paranormal comedy from Sharon Horgan.

The Catastrophe co-writer created Shining Vale with Jeff Astrof whose credits include The New Adventures of Old Christine.

Its plot revolves around a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a house in a small town in which terrible atrocities have taken place.

Cox’s character Pat – a now-sober former wild-child who rose to fame by writing a raunchy women’s empowerment novel –  then befriends a paranormal being, convinced she’s either depressed or possessed.

The series also stars Greg Kinnear as her husband and Mira Sorvino as  Rosemary, who is either Pat’s alter ego, a split personality, her id, her muse, or a demon trying to possess her.

Eight half-hour episodes have been commissioned by US cable channel Starz. It will be available in the UK on StarzPlay, a £4.99-a-month add-on to Amazon Prime Video.

Christina Davis, Starz president of original programming, said: ‘Shining Vale is a smart, chilling and funny series that tells the story of a family in turmoil who is suddenly living with a paranormal who helps Courteney Cox’s character get her groove back as she starts to question her own sanity.

‘This group of talented actors, executive producers and director blends comedy and horror brilliantly throughout this series which exemplifies the network’s commitment to improve female representation on and off the screen.’

Astrof wrote the pilot episode based on a story he created with Horgan, whose production company Merman is one of the firms making the series.

Published: 19 Apr 2021