Cuoco rose to prominence with her famous role as Penny in the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, going on to star in many more projects and be nominated for three Primetime Emmys. One of her noteworthy credits is HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant — which explains how she came to hear about the burgeoning new show How to Survive Without Me.
Variety reported on Wednesday that Cuoco has been added to the cast of the HBO Max drama pilot How to Survive Without Me. Greg Berlanti is one of the main writers on the project, following him serving as an executive producer on The Flight Attendant, making this a significant reunion between him and Cuoco. Bash Doran is co-writer, from a story by Berlanti, Doran, and Robbie Rogers.
Ray Romano and Joshua Jackson were previously announced as members of the pilot’s cast. Per How to Survive Without Me‘s longline, “In the wake of matriarch Beverly’s passing, the De Angelis family have begun to drift, unsure how to manage their complicated, evolving lives without her guidance, but in true Beverly fashion, she found a way to keep running the show from the beyond.“
Cuoco will play the family’s eldest daughter, Kate, “who inherited her mother’s perfectionism, elegance, and organizational prowess,“ and is balancing her own family and career when she is forced to confront old wounds. This news comes two years after The Flight Attendant‘s cancellation was confirmed in January 2024 (the show itself ended in 2022).
Cuoco earned two Emmy and Golden Globe nominations due to her performance in this show, and she added another character to her repertoire with the new thriller miniseries Vanished. Cuoco perhaps doesn’t have the most versatility of her peers, but she has gradually expanded into other genres and will now tackle a new drama-focused story.
Cuoco’s other major credits include Harley Quinn and Based on a True Story. With this new family drama to sink her teeth into, Kaley Cuoco’s best role yet could be coming very soon. Those who have enjoyed seeing her move further away from the comedic role that defined her for so long — and in some ways, still does — will have to check out the upcoming How to Survive Without Me.