Playbill
The September special will be produced entirely under quarantine.
By Andrew Gans
June 17, 2020
Paul Rudnick’s comic satire Coastal Elites, featuring an array of characters from New York to Los Angeles coping with politics and the pandemic, will air on HBO in September.
Produced entirely under quarantine, this series of confessionals from five main characters will star Tony winner Bette Midler (Hello, Dolly!), Kaitlyn Dever (Unbelievable), Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Emmy winner Sarah Paulson (American Crime Story), and Issa Rae (Insecure). Jay Roach (Bombshell, All the Way) directs.
Rudnick (Jeffrey, the upcoming musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada) and Roach executive produce along with Tony winner Jeffrey Seller (Hamilton, In the Heights), Flody Suarez (Rise, The Cher Show), Scott Chaloff, and Michelle Graham (Bombshell).
Press Release
HBO will present Paul Rudnick’s comic satire COASTAL ELITES, featuring an all-star cast playing characters from New York to Los Angeles coping with politics and the pandemic. Airing in September and to be produced entirely under quarantine guidelines, this special presentation tells contemporary stories of breaking down and breaking through, that are funny, searing, poignant and now. Playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick (“Addams Family Values,” “In & Out”) writes, and Jay Roach (“Bombshell,” HBO’s Emmy-nominated “All The Way” and Emmy-winning “Game Change”) directs, and both serve as executive producers, in addition to Jeffrey Seller (Tony winner for Broadway’s Hamilton, In the Heights, and Rent), Flody Suarez (“Rise,” “8 Simple Rules,” Broadway’s The Cher Show), Scott Chaloff, and Michelle Graham (“Bombshell”).
In addition to Tony, Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy winner Bette Midler (Hello Dolly, “The Rose”), COASTAL ELITES will star (in alphabetical order) Kaitlyn Dever (Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee for “Unbelievable”), Dan Levy (Emmy nominee for “Schitt’s Creek”), Sarah Paulson (Emmy and Golden Globe winner for “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” Golden Globe and Emmy nominee for HBO’s “Game Change”) and Issa Rae (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee for HBO’s “Insecure”).
“Paul Rudnick and Jay Roach bring their razor-sharp perspective and wit to HBO,” said Casey Bloys, President, HBO Programming. “We are thrilled to partner with them in telling this story, which is uniquely resonant for these times.”
Exploring our current world of deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection, COASTAL ELITES features a series of confessionals from five main characters.
COASTAL ELITES is written by Paul Rudnick; directed by Jay Roach; executive producers Paul Rudnick, Jay Roach, Jeffrey Seller, Flody Suarez, Scott Chaloff, Michelle Graham.
