Kiernan Shipka's latest role as an assistant to a Hollywood exec makes Andy's job in Devil Wears Prada look like a walk in the park.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actress plays Lou Simms, a Hollywood intern who is told that she has "no brain" and her opinion "means nothing" in the trailer for Swimming With Sharks, released March 14. And while most people would run for the hills after hearing feedback like that, Lou says she's willing to stomach the abuse if it means she's one step closer to "doing something beyond dog walking and lunch orders."
The one doling out that abuse is her new boss, studio exec Joyce Holt, played by Diane Kruger, loses her assistant in a drowning incident.
To make matters worse, it's rumored that Joyce played a role in her assistant's death, with someone telling Lou, "She pushed him too far. His death is on her."
While this may sound like yet another show about a young girl pursuing her dreams in a world of fashion and glamour, Lou says, "This is not one of those stories."
Instead, Swimming With Sharks blends the ambition of Devil Wears Prada with the obsession of Penn Badgley's You in this thrilling series. Per the series synopsis, viewers will first see Lou Simms as "a naïve Hollywood newcomer, awestruck by the studio's notorious CEO, Joyce Holt." But here's the twist: "In truth, Lou has done extensive research on Joyce and landing this internship was no happy accident. As Lou's obsession grows, she will do anything to get close to her idol."
The Roku Original series is a remake of the 1994 George Huang film of the same name. The original movie starred a majority-male cast comprised of Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley and Benicio Del Toro.
Series creator Kathleen Robertson told Variety that when she began plotting the story, she realized "the only way to use this as something worth telling right now would be to do it from a female perspective. Through the eyes of these two very complex, ambitious, interesting women."
Donald Sutherland, Thomas Dekker, Finn Jones, Erika Alexander, Ross Butler and Gerardo Celasco round out the cast.
See Robertson's take on this film when the six-episode series premieres on the Roku Channel April 15.