Apple TV+’s comedy series High Desert is adding to its cast. Matt Dillon, Rupert Friend, Weruche Opia, Brad Garrett, Bernadette Peters and Christine Taylor will star opposite Patricia Arquette in the half-hour series, which is exec produced by Ben Stiller and directed by Jay Roach.
Arquette plays Peggy, an addict who decides to make a new start by becoming a private investigator after the death of her beloved mother with whom she lived in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California.
Crash and Wayward Pines star Dillon will play Denny, Peggy’s ex, an undeniably charming parolee and a relentless operator. Homeland’s Friend will play Guru Bob, a local ex-anchorman, who, after a trauma, rebrands himself as a mystic desert personality. I May Destroy You’s Opia stars as Carol, Peggy’s closest friend, the bored fiancé of an ER doctor and a permissive new stepmother — who has a secret of her own. Everybody Loves Raymond and Fargo star Garrett will play Bruce, a private investigator whose business is circling the drain, and who becomes Peggy’s reluctant employer.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’s Peters will recur as Rosalyn, Peggy’s complicated mother, while Zoolander’s Taylor recurs as Dianne, Peggy’s buttoned-up sister, who tries to make order of Peggy’s chaos. Eric Petersen, who stars as Kevin in AMC’s Kevin Can F*ck Himself, will also recur.
High Desert is created and written by Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford and Jennifer Hoppe, who exec produce. Arquette also exec produces alongside Stiller, Nicky Weinstock and Jackie Cohn, Molly Madden and Tom Lassally and John Cameron.
Roach, who also exec produces, will direct all eight episodes of the Apple Studios project with Michelle Graham as co-EP.
Dillon is repped by UTA and Untitled Entertainment, Friend is repped by Grandview and attorneys Steve Warren and Jennifer Gray, Opia is repped by Curtis Brown, Anonymous Content and attorney Shelby Weiser, Garrett is repped by UTA, Management 360 and Gendler & Kelly, Peters is repped by Scott Henderson at WME and Taylor is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertainment.
