Julia Roberts has dubbed her upcoming debut as a TV series regular “a total experiment”, because she has no idea how to act for the small screen.
The Pretty Woman star will lead the cast in forthcoming psychological thriller Homecoming, in which Roberts has signed on to play an employee at a secret government facility that helps soldiers reintegrate to society after serving overseas.
The new show, set to begin shooting in early 2018, was inspired by Gimlet Media’s fictional podcast of the same name, which launched a year ago (16), and will be directed and executive produced by Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail.
Bosses at the Amazon Studios streaming service recently picked up the rights to Homecoming and immediately placed a two season straight-to-series order, tapping it for big success, and Roberts admits having such compelling base material for the show helped her make the jump from Hollywood to TV.
“(Listening to the podcast), you never know what’s happening, really, and I love that,” she tells InStyle magazine, before gushing about the storytelling opportunities currently offered in the TV industry.
“I don’t want to go against my peoples, but it sort of is (the most exciting medium right now),” she continues. “There’s a lot of really good content and a lot of diversity.”
Despite her excitement at the new challenge, the Oscar winner still has her doubts about how well she will adapt to working on the small screen, where peers like Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and Matthew McConaughey have recently flourished.
“(Homecoming is) a total experiment…,” she confesses. ”I don’t even know what it really requires. I just know how to watch a TV show. I don’t know how to make one.”
Roberts will have to adjust to the medium quickly as Homecoming is expected to premiere later next year (18).
She is also attached to star in another TV project, titled Today Will Be Different, a drama series based on author Maria Semple’s book of the same name, which is in development at HBO.
