Mae Whitman and Emily Meade will lead Whisper Sisters, a new comedy pilot set against the bourbon and moonshine world of Kentucky and the women who were largely left out of those stories, known as the “Whisper Sisters.” The independently financed pilot will begin production in Louisville this summer, with the completed episode set to be taken to potential broadcasters and streamers later this year.
Whitman will play Alexis Whisper, who left Kentucky behind for a new life in Brooklyn and never planned to return. Meade stars as her estranged sister Erin, an independent single mother who stayed close to home and the family business. The sisters are reunited following their father’s funeral, where they discover they must work together to keep their family’s illegal moonshine operation running.
Britne Oldford will play Alexis’ wife, Kayla, while Emma Duchesneau stars as Erin’s 17-year-old daughter, Reagan. Sharon Murray joins the cast as Memaw, the family matriarch responsible for guarding its moonshine recipe. Henry Thomas will also appear as Keith, a corrupt Bullitt County sheriff with connections to almost everything illegal moving through the area.
Whisper Sisters is created and written by Louisville native Corey Roederer, with Ryan Cunningham directing. Mary Clay Boland is handling casting and producing alongside Brian Loschiavo, whose company Riverside Entertainment is producing the pilot. Roederer said the story began in his own backyard, growing up in a place where bourbon is treated with almost religious importance while the women who helped build its history were rarely given the same recognition. Cunningham described the pilot as a story about women reclaiming their family and legacy, with the relationship between Alexis and Erin at its centre.
The project does not currently have a broadcaster or streamer attached. Its producers plan to use the finished pilot to secure a full series order after filming is complete.
For CultureCues, this has all the ingredients for a comedy we would happily watch. Two estranged sisters and an illegal family business already give Whisper Sisters a strong setup, while the real history behind its title makes the idea even more interesting. Mae Whitman and Emily Meade should be a great pairing at the centre of it. Pour us a glass, we are curious.
CultureCues Editorial is the house byline for short-form entertainment news, trailer updates, release announcements and industry coverage. All CultureCues content is overseen by founder and editor Nikki Murray.