Elisabeth Moss Was Initially Pegged to Portray Axe Murderer Candy Montgomery in Hulu's 'Candy'
Published March 19 2022, 4:28 p.m. ET
From The Act to The Dropout to The Thing About Pam, true crime miniseries have been all the rage for the last several years. Watching our favorite actors fully embody infamous con artists, thieves, murderers, and everything in between undeniably makes for excellent television. We may have found ourselves in research holes, listening to podcasts and reading a plethora of articles about certain world-famous cases; but seeing humanity, empathy, and feeling (or lack thereof) pour out of the real-life characters on the small screen allows us to view a story in a whole new light.
The newly announced Hulu miniseries Candy will detail the notorious 1980 slaying of Betty Gore by axe murderer Candy Montgomery. There's just something about a Texas-based suburban housewife slaughtering her neighborhood bestie that has us reaching for a bowl of freshly buttered popcorn (not to make light of the case, of course). Robin Veith and Nick Antosca's series will feature the fabulous Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) as victim Betty Gore, while Emmy nominee Jessica Biel (Limetown) will transform into the less-than-sweet Candy.
While it's certainly refreshing to see Jessica Biel — who executive produced series like USA's The Sinner and Freeform's Cruel Summer — once again take on the role of a killer (after portraying one in The Sinner Season 1), Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) was originally supposed to play Candy Montgomery — a wife, mother, and church-goer who seemed to have it all. What happened?
Why did Jessica Biel replace Elisabeth Moss in Hulu's drama miniseries 'Candy'?
Back in December 2020, Deadline announced that The Invisible Man star would not only play Candy Montgomery in Candy, but she'd also serve as an executive producer alongside Lindsey McManus.
Elisabeth Moss had been craving an “anti-heroine” role, and was excited to reunite with Robin Veith, who was a writer and producer for Mad Men.
Cut to October 2021, when it was announced that Elisabeth Moss dropped out of the project. The reasoning? It was simply related to "scheduling conflicts," sources relayed to The Hollywood Reporter. It's a shame, but we have confidence that Jessica Biel — who is also executive producing the series — will knock it out of the park.
There is yet another Candy Montgomery-themed limited series currently in the works over at HBO Max.
Netflix and Hulu each released their own Fyre Festival documentaries in 2019. Hulu already has a successful Elizabeth Holmes-themed miniseries (The Dropout), meanwhile, Adam McKay's similar film (Bad Blood) is currently being made. Now, with two different Candy Montgomery-themed projects being banged out, it's the battle of the miniseries.
Based on Jim Atkinson and John Bloom'sTexas Monthly article on the case, "Love and Death in Silicon Prairie," HBO Max will release its six-episode miniseries, called Love and Death, as reported by E! News. Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision) will portray Candy and Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) will play Betty.
Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) will executive produce the series alongside Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley, who will also write it.
It'll certainly be interesting to compare the Jessica-Melanie duo to the Elizabeth-Lily pairing, but perhaps it's time streaming services stop adapting the same stories at nearly the same time. Until then, may the best axe murderer win!
Candy premieres on Monday, May 9, 2022, on Hulu.