Let me tell you about a casting choice that’s making me sit up and take notice. Imagine this: Ellen Pompeo, the woman who spent a decade embodying the pinnacle of medical professionalism on Grey’s Anatomy, is now teaming up with Jodie Whittaker—the first female Doctor Who—to star in a Hulu dramedy about con artists. And to round out this bizarrely compelling trio? Louis Cancelmi, the actor who just finished a film with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. It’s like the universe is throwing a dice game and calling it art.
What makes this particularly fascinating is the sheer tonal whiplash of the project. Chicks isn’t just another crime drama; it’s a family dramedy set in gentrifying Boston, where estranged sisters inherit their dad’s criminal legacy and turn it into a chaotic hustle. The idea of Pompeo and Whittaker playing characters who are both struggling and scheming feels like a deliberate rejection of their usual roles. Pompeo, who’s spent years being the moral compass of her shows, is now playing someone who’s probably lying through her teeth. Whittaker, who brought a cosmic gravitas to her role as the Doctor, is now in a situation where her character’s biggest challenge might be figuring out how to fake a will.
And then there’s Louis Cancelmi. The man has been everywhere lately—shooting a film with Martin Scorsese, appearing in Apple TV’s Government Cheese, and now this. His character, Danny McKeever, is a funeral home owner with a poet’s soul and a con man’s dreams. It’s a role that feels like it was written for someone who’s spent their career bouncing between indie films and prestige TV. But what really gets me is the contrast between his recent projects and this one. He’s just wrapped a film with DiCaprio and Lawrence, and now he’s playing a guy who’s stuck running a funeral home. It’s like the universe is saying, ‘You’ve been to the top of the world, now let’s see if you can make a living off of dead people.’
Let’s talk about the bigger picture here. Hulu has been on a roll with its original content, but this feels different. It’s not just another streaming service trying to compete with Netflix or Disney+. This is a show that’s leaning into the absurdity of its premise and the chemistry between its leads. The fact that it’s set in Boston—a city that’s been gentrified to the point where it’s almost unrecognizable—adds another layer of irony. These sisters are trying to survive in a place that’s literally erasing its own history, and they’re doing it by committing crimes. It’s like the show is asking, ‘What’s more American: the hustle or the gentrification?’
And let’s not forget the writing. Katie Robbins, the creator, has a track record of blending humor with heart. Her previous work, Good American Family, was a limited series that managed to be both heartbreaking and hilarious. This new project feels like a natural evolution of that style. The challenge for Robbins will be balancing the comedy with the emotional stakes. If she nails it, this could be one of those shows that people binge-watch and then talk about for years. If she misses, it could be the kind of project that gets canceled after one season because no one knows what it’s trying to be.
What this really suggests is that the TV landscape is getting more daring. We’re seeing more stories that don’t fit neatly into genres, more actors taking risks, and more creators willing to push boundaries. Chicks isn’t just a show about con artists—it’s a commentary on family, survival, and the American dream. And in a world where we’re all trying to figure out what’s real and what’s a scam, maybe that’s exactly what we need.
