Jessica Biel Replaces Elisabeth Moss In Hulu True Crime Series Candy

"She was a normal suburban housewife. All she wanted was a little fun with another man. She never really expected to kill her lover's wife."

That's how Jim Atkinson and John Bloom described it in the header of their account of the 1980 Betty Gore slaying that shocked Texas and a nation. Now, Hulu has ordered a scripted true crime series about Gore's alleged killer Candy Montgomery, with Jessica Biel now attached to lead.

The Candy Montgomery project was first announced in July 2020, arriving at Hulu in December with Elisabeth Moss ("The Handmaid's Tale") announced to play the lead. The "Invisible Man" star has since withdrawn due to scheduling conflicts, and now Biel will replace her as Montgomery. The crime series tells the sordid story of Texas housewife Candy Montgomery, who killed her lover's wife and her one-time friend, Betty Gore, with an axe in 1980. Robin Veith penned the "Candy" pilot script and will serve as executive producer on the series, alongside Nick Antosca (under his Eat the Cat banner), Biel, Michelle Purple (under the Iron Ocean banner), and "Brand New Cherry Flavor" producer Alex Hedlund. "American Horror Story" director Michael Uppendahl will helm the pilot and executive produce. "Evidence of Love" authors Jim Atkinson and John Bloom will serve as consulting producers.

Known originally for her starring role on the TV show "7th Heaven" and in features like "The Illusionist," and Marcus Nipel's gnarly 2003 reboot of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Biel has been nominated for an Emmy in 2018 for her starring role in the USA Network crime drama "The Sinner." The series' success has earned it some longevity, with its fourth season set to premiere on October 13, 2021.

The Betty Gore case is an unsavory one, so naturally this isn't the first time it's gotten a dramatized treatment. "Candy" is actually the second scripted show ordered to series about Montgomery; HBO Max's "Love and Death" is currently in development with Elizabeth Olsen ("Wandavision") set to star as Montgomery, and Lily Rabe ("American Horror Story") attached to play Gore. Both shows are inspired by the book "Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs" by Atkinson and Bloom, the latter whom you might know better under the name Joe Bob Briggs, the genial host of Shudder's "The Last Drive-In" series. The film critic and journalist told Halloween Love that "Evidence of Love" was, "the best nonfiction book I'd ever written."