Miley Cyrus And Elaine May Lead The Star Cast In Woody Allen’s First TV Show

Miley Cyrus and Elaine May — separated by sixty years — are both returning to acting in the same show.

While the former Hannah Montana star will return to the small screen after a hiatus of only five years (although she did star in Sofia Coppola’s A Very Murray Christmas on Netflix last month), Elaine May — a comedian and screenwriter of note — will don her acting robes for the first time since she starred in Woody Allen’s Small Time Crooks.

Now 83, May is a veteran, having broken into the industry in the 1950s as one-half of the comedy duo Nichols and May alongside future famed director Mike Nichols, according to LA Times. The pair won a Grammy Award in 1962 for best comedy album, with May going on to become a successful screenwriter in her own right, having penned movies like Heaven Can Wait and Primary Colors, both of which garnered her Oscar nominations.

The yet-untitled show, which is being developed by Amazon Studios, will be famed director Woody Allen’s first foray into TV.

Allen, an octogenarian himself, appears to never run out of steam. When Amazon first announced the show in 2015, Allen — displaying his penchant for wry humor — said he did not know how he was roped in for the show by Amazon Studios boss Roy Price.

“I don’t know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I’m not sure where to begin. My guess is that Roy Price will regret this.”

#MileyCyrus to star in #WoodyAllen's new TV series for #Amazon! No, I don't make this stuff up. pic.twitter.com/zC1i4IfU83

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 26, 2016

Miley Cyrus, a self-proclaimed Woody Allen fan, could not hide her excitement at being asked to appear in the show. Although it is not yet clear who exactly the Wrecking Ball star will play in the half-hour comedy sitcom series, Miley took to Instagram to post an artistic portrait of Allen in her room — which she claims has been there for years — adding that she was “stoked” to be working alongside him and Elaine May.

“I had claimed 2016 to be my year of ‘chillin the f**k out’ but next to my bed for a few years now has been this portrait of W.A.. I was looking into his eyes when I got the call to be apart of the cast and work alongside the bad a** Elaine May & da dude himself!”

Miley Cyrus is certain to form a curious pair with Elaine May, but with the mercurial Woody Allen at the helm, one can be sure that the new Amazon series will attract a host of eyeballs at the time of its premiere. According to Deadline (via ABC), the show begins production in March. Roy Price, the head of Amazon Studios, hailed Allen’s “genius” soon after the show was first announced.

“Woody Allen is a visionary creator who has made some of the greatest films of all-time, and it’s an honor to be working with him on his first television series. From Annie Hall to Blue Jasmine, Woody has been at the creative forefront of American cinema and we couldn’t be more excited to premiere his first TV series exclusively on Prime Instant Video next year.”

Although Allen is now reaching an age where he might find it difficult to piece together a great first TV show, there is little doubt that people will be expecting him to deliver yet again.

With the curious — but creative — triumvirate of Woody Allen, Elaine May and Miley Cyrus leading the charge, one can only wonder what lies in store for us.

[Photo by Kevin Winter & Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images]