Michelle Dean, co-creator and co-showrunner of Hulu’s “The Act,” has signed with CAA for representation.
An attorney-turned-journalist, Dean is the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle award for excellence in criticism in 2017 for “Sharp: The Women Who Made An Art of Having an Opinion,” which explored the cultural and intellectual impact of female literary trailblazers of the twentieth century. As a journalist, Dean trained as a reporter at The New Yorker before going on to receive bylines in The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, ELLE, The Cut and other publications.
Dean’s 2016 reporting on the Buzzfeed story “Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom Murdered,” inspired Hulu’s “The Act.” Starring Joey King and Patricia Arquette, the series broke Hulu viewing and subscription records in 2019. Both King and Arquette received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for their leading roles. Arquette won both for her performance as Dee Dee Blanchard.
In her next act, Dean is currently attached as a showrunner on HBO Max’s upcoming “The Way Down.” The scripted series is based on the streamer’s hit docuseries, “The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin.” Sarah Paulson is set to play Gwen Shamblin, an evangelical diet guru from Tennessee who rose to fame with her Weigh Down Workshop and founded a cult-like church based on its success. Campfire Studios and Huntley Productions are producing.
Dean is also in development on “The Lazarus Files.” Adapted from Matthew McGough’s book of the same name, the story chronicles the true story of Stephanie Lazarus, who as a rookie cop with the LAPD in 1985, killed a romantic rival, Sherri Rasmussen. Lazarus covered up the murder and continued to work with the LAPD, rising up the ranks to detective. In 2009, detectives re-examining Sherri Rasmussen’s cold case matched Lazarus’ DNA to a bite mark found on the Rasmussen’s body, subsequently arresting Lazarus who is now serving a life sentence for the murder of Sherri Rasmussen. Bill Dubuque, Kristen Campo and Matthew McGough will executive produce the series.
Dean continues to be represented by Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
