Alongside Deadpool's Karan Soni

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actress Ellie Kemper is to star in a US remake of Motherland.

Kemper, who also appeared in the American version of The Office, will shoot a pilot episode of the comedy - retited  Drop-Off - for the ABC network.

She also joins the creators of the BBC original - Sharon Horgan, Holly Walsh and Helen Serafinowicz - as an executive producer.  

Kemper wll portray Julia, the role previously played by Anna Maxwell-Martin, described as 'a working mom for whom nothing is working'. 

Kevin - as played by Paul Ready in the UK - has been renamed Calvin for the series, and  will reportedly be taken by Indian-American comedian Karan Soni, who played taxi driver Dopinder in the Deadpool franchise..

Other cast have not been named.

A new script is being written by Julieanne Smolinski, whose credits include Grace and Frankie and  working with Horgan on the series Shining Vale, while Search Party's Michael Showalter will direct

Drop-Off is described as 'a comedy for anybody who’s dropped their kids at school, breathed a sigh of relief … then realized it’s Sunday'.

Motherland - whse stars also inlcude Diane Morgan and Lucy Punch - has run for three seasons on BBC Two and streams on AMC+ in the States. Graham Linehan, Serafinowicz's ex-husband, was also one of the original creators but stepped back from subsequent series. 

Published: 11 Mar 2023