Allison Janney, Laura Dern to Co-Star in Tate Taylor’s Breaking News in Yuba County

Allison Janney and Laura Dern will co-star as sisters in the dark comedy Breaking News in Yuba County. Tate Taylor, whose credits include The Help and The Girl on the Train, will direct from a script by Amanda Idoko.

Breaking News in Yuba County centers around disregarded pencil pusher Sue Bottoms (Janney), who catches her husband in bed with another woman, which causes him to die of a heart attack. Sue buries his body and indulges in the attention that comes with having a missing husband. But things get complicated, fast—Sue has to dodge cops and criminals, all while trying to keep the truth from her sister (Dern), a local news anchor who is desperate for a story.

The project puts Taylor and Janney back together again, who previously teamed up for The Help.

“The moment I read Amanda’s dark and brilliant script, I knew it was the one for Allison,” Taylor told Variety. “She and I have been searching since The Help for something big to do. So have Laura and I. It’s a perfect story of debauchery and chaos, and I’m delighted to have Stuart and his AGC team onboard as our backers.”

Earlier this year, Janney won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of LaVona Golden in I, Tonya. Dern won her fourth Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for her role as Renata Klein in the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies, also receiving Oscar nominations for her roles in Wild and Rambling Rose.

Breaking News in Yuba County will go into production in early 2019.