Fresh off a few major wins at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, Hulu has just scored a big-name star for one of its upcoming shows.
Two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn will take on his first regular TV role in “The First,” from “House of Cards” creator Beau Willimon.
Hulu did not release details regarding Penn’s role due to the secrecy surrounding the project.
What is known about “The First” is that the series takes place in the near future — Willimon teased that the show would be set 15-20 years from now at the ATX TV Festival over the summer — and follows the first human mission to Mars.
“I have such deep admiration for Sean’s immense talent and extraordinary body of work,” said Willimon in a statement via Hulu. “I feel very lucky to be collaborating with an artist of his caliber.”
It will follow the stories of the astronauts and their families.
The show was ordered straight to series back in May, just one week after the debut of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a show that proved to be a breakout for the streaming network.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” picked up eight Emmy wins this year, including best drama, making Hulu is the first streaming network to pick up the big prize.
“Handmaid’s Tale” star Elisabeth Moss also picked up the best actress in a drama award.
Penn is arguably the biggest star to join the Hulu fold to date. Household names like Hugh Laurie and James Franco also star in shows on the streaming network, but those series failed to break through the noise of so-called Peak TV quite like “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
“The First” is expected to premiere in 2018.