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Kathryn Hahn to play late comic Joan Rivers in biopic series ‘The Comeback Girl’

Kathryn Hahn and Joan Rivers at the Emmys in 2021 and 2003 respectively.
Actress and director Kathryn Hahn, left, will play legendary comedienne Joan Rivers in a limited series for Showtime.
(Left: Willy Sanjuan/Invision for the Television Academy / AP. Right: Laura Rauch / AP)
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Actually, it’s been Joan all along.

Kathryn Hahn has been cast as Joan Rivers in an upcoming series about the legendary comedian titled “The Comeback Girl.”

The Emmy-nominated “WandaVision” star will also co-executive produce the limited series about the brash late-night fixture, which is in development for Showtime, according to a Wednesday statement from the premium cable channel.

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The series is set after the cancellation of “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers,” Fox’s late-1980s talker that made the stand-up comedian the first woman to host her own late-night talk show.

But the infamous series also made Rivers a bitter rival of longtime friend Johnny Carson, on whose 1960s “Tonight Show” she was a frequent guest, host and apparent successor. But she eventually became persona non grata after pitching her series to Fox without telling him.

In 1986, Joan Rivers made a fateful call to her mentor Johnny Carson.

Sept. 4, 2014

Her “Late Show” was canceled after about 150 episodes and around the time her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, who was also the show’s producer, died by suicide in 1987.

“Trailblazer. Adored. Cruel. Diva,” the new series’ logline reads. “Joan Rivers had a life like no other. At age 54, she was a superstar comedienne … and then it all fell apart. ‘The Comeback Girl’ is the awe-inspiring untold story of how Joan Rivers persevered through near suicide and professional abyss to rebuild herself and her career to become a global icon.”

Joan Rivers and Nancy Reagan
In this Oct. 30, 1986, photo, First Lady Nancy Reagan appears on Joan Rivers’ late-night show.
(Reed Saxon / Associated Press)

The star of E!’s “Fashion Police” died in 2014 at 81, days after undergoing a routine endoscopy at a New York City clinic. Her family settled a medical malpractice lawsuit against the facility in 2016.

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Warner Bros. Television is producing “The Comeback Girl” with Atlas Entertainment and Berlanti Productions. “Riverdale” producer Greg Berlanti is set to direct the series, and “The Blacklist” writer Cosmo Carlson will write it. Both will also co-executive produce.

Before Hahn embodies Rivers, the “WandaVision” supervillain will next be seen in the Apple TV+ series “The Shrink Next Door” with Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd, as well as director Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” sequel.

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