Ryan Murphy has discovered his Truman Capote, and casting for Season 2 of his anthology series Feud is in full swing. Following the announcement of Naomi Watts as one of Capote’s “swans,” Babe Paley, and Chlo Sevigny as C.Z. Guest, Variety reports that Tom Hollander has been cast in the lead role. Calista Flockhart and Diane Lane have also joined the cast of the show, so Hollander isn’t the only new addition. Season 2 of Feud, set to premiere five years after the first season starring Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, will focus on Capote and the women who were close to him. Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, & a Swan Song for an Era, written by Laurence Leamer, tells the true story of how Capote’s close friendships with the New York socialites of the 1970s crumbled after he published La Côte Basque 1965 in Esquire Magazine, a chapter from his unfinished novel Answered Prayers.
He damaged his connections irreparably and sparked an epic quarrel by revealing the most intimate and embarrassing secrets of the social elite. Flockhart joins the show as Lee Radziwill, the sister of first lady Jackie Kennedy and wife of a Polish prince, who forms a close bond with Capote due in part to their shared experiences with the ill-fated Kennedy marriage. Meanwhile, Lane will play fashion legend Nancy “Slim” Keith, who has been called the original “California girl” and who is said to be the inspiration for Capote’s character Lady Coolbirth in Answered Prayers. Hollander is a seasoned actor who has been in several films and television shows, including Pride and Prejudice (2005), Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Night Manager, for which he won a BAFTA. Recently, he has made appearances in films including The King’s Man and Bird Box.
His co-created shows Rev. and Taboo have made him more visible on television in recent years, and the impending second season of The White Lotus on HBO is sure to bring him much more attention. Meanwhile, Flockhart has had a successful career, earning three Emmy nods for her performance as Ally McBeal. Between 2015 through 2021, she was a regular Supergirl in the role of Cat Grant. As Superman’s mother, Martha Kent, Lane has been in several DC films, including Man of Steel and Justice League, and has been nominated for an Oscar for her part in the film Unfaithful.
She is also noted for her work in Under the Tuscan Sun. In addition, she contributed her voice to Disney’s Inside Out. Recently, however, she has shifted her focus to television, where she starred in the critically panned but commercially successful Y: The Last Man and will soon be seen co-starring with Jeff Daniels in A Man in Full. Season 2 of Feud has already begun, and Gus Van Sant will helm all eight episodes. Jon Robin Baitz will write and serve as the showrunner for the second season.