Very few actresses have the iron-clad reputation thatParker Poseyhas developed over the years. In the 1990s, she was a bit of an It-girl, securing iconic roles in a slew of indie projects, fromParty GirlandThe House of YestoDazed and ConfusedandWaiting for Guffman. And that’s not even counting her work in masterpieces likeKicking and ScreamingandHenry Fool, the latter of which set-up a collaborative relationship with the greatHal Hartley. In the aughts, she branched out big time, with roles inSuperman Returns(yay!),Blade: Trinity(boo!), and three projects withWaiting for GuffmandirectorChristopher Guest, including the uproariousBest in Show.
She still works regularly to this day, having now worked withWoody Allenon the hugely undervaluedIrrational Manand making a memorable appearance onParks & Recreation. Now,as Deadline reports, she will be one of the key performers in Netflix’s remake ofLost in Space, a 10-episode remake series with is set to debut sometime in 2018 on the streaming giant. Her role is that of Dr. Smith, the often nefarious and constantly scheming doctor who travels through the universe with the Robinson family on the Jupiter 2. In the original series, the lateJonathan Harriswas in the role, whereasGary Oldmantook up the mantle in the not-so-good movie adaptation of the series. Gender reversal alert!
I’m sure that a few sad people on the internet will have something truly and deeply ignorant to say about this switcheroo and for them, I have exactly no pity or empathy. Posey does great when she’s playing a schemer and for those in need of proof, just watch the menacing emotional undercurrents she gives to the head of the senior high school girls inDazed and Confused. Her inclusion in the series already suggests that this version ofLost in Space, unlike the movie, will be worth our time in an increasingly suffocating TV market.
