Jennifer Garner is jumping into the lead role for a new Apple TV+ limited series titled The Last Thing He Told Me, Deadline reports. Garner, who will also serve as an executive producer, will be stepping in for Julia Roberts who was cast in the lead role, but had to step back due to scheduling issues. Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine will produce the series with Witherspoon representing the studio along with 20th Television.
Based on the story from The New York Times #1 bestseller by the same name written by Laura Dave, the Apple TV+ adaptation will center around the story of a woman (Garner) whose husband’s unexplained disappearance leaves many questions unanswered. While sorting out the truth from the lies of this bizarre occurrence, the woman creates an unlikely bond with her 16 year old stepdaughter. Published by Simon & Schuster, the novel has sold over 1.3 million copies to date and has clocked in over six months on the New York Times bestseller list.
The series is created by Dave and co-created by Oscar winner Josh Singer (Spotlight), who are a married couple. The married team also serves as executive producers alongside Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter who will be representing Hello Sunshine.
This isn’t Garner’s first time working with Apple TV+ as the Alias star is also appearing as the leading role in another book turned series titled My Glory Was I Had Such Friends which is based on the memoir by the same name authored by Amy Silverstein. Garner also serves as executive producer of the series alongside Bad Robot Production’s J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson. Along with her Apple TV+ credits, Garner has been busy heading and producing Neflix’s film, Yes Day, which tells the story of a day in which parents say “yes” to everything their kids want to do.
Garner's next film release will be a sci-fi flick titled, The Adam Project, in which she will appear with Ryan Reynolds, Zoe Saldana, and Mark Ruffalo. To keep things in the same movie by way of book theme, Garner is set to star and produce Family Leave, a comedy movie that will take much of its story from Bedtime For Mommy, a book by bestselling author Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
With her versatile acting background, Garner will be the perfect fit for this book to film adaptation of a mysterious disappearance and unlikely friendship between step mom and step daughter. Hopefully, more information on the cast and production team will be made available soon for those of us hanging on in anticipation.