Kaley Cuoco: HBO Max Reveals Premiere Date of Star’s New Show ‘The Flight Attendant’

Instead of watching football on Thanksgiving Day, HBO Max subscribers can check out The Flight Attendant, the new series starring The Big Bang Theory‘s Kaley Cuoco. The first three episodes of the eight-episode freshman season will debut on the streaming platform on Thursday, Nov. 26. The Flight Attendant is based on the 2018 novel about a woman who wakes up in Dubai with a dead body next to her and no idea how it got there.

In the series, Cuoco stars as the titular flight attendant, Cassandra Bowden, who wakes up from a hangover in Dubai with a dead man next to her. Instead of telling authorities, Cassandra joins her co-workers on the flight back to New York City, where FBI agents want to question her. Since there is no evidence, even Cassandra begins to think she might be the man’s murderer.

The show’s all-star cast includes Zosia Mamet, Rosie Perez, T.R. Knight, Michiel Huisman, Colin Woodell, Michell Gomez, Nolan Gerard Funk, Merle Dandrige, Griffin Matthews, and Colin Woodell. Cuoco is an executive producer under her Yes, Norman Productions banner. Susanna Fogel is the director and executive producer for the first two episodes. The other executive producers are Greg Berlanti, Steve Yockey, Marcie Ulin, Meredith Lavender, and Sarah Schechter.

The series’ tone shifts from dark comedy to drama and the role of Cassandra is far different from Big Bang‘s Penny. “She’s the fun flight attendant who looks completely put together but really is falling apart inside. She’s an alcoholic, but obviously doesn’t want to admit it,” Cuoco told TVInsider about her new character. “She is a disaster, but at the end of the day, she has a good heart and she wants to do what’s right.”

In that same interview, Cuoco said she initially did not understand why Cassandra made the choices she did, but she came to understand the character’s motivations. “When I read the book, I was like, ‘Who would be this stupid? Who would do these things?’ But I watch so much Dateline, and I see so many people get so terrified they pretend something didn’t happen,” she said. “The panic really does take over your body and your mind. Then you start making terrible decisions and get stuck in an even worse situation.”

Cuoco has another show on HBO Max, DC Comics’ Harley Quinn. She voices the title character in the animated series, which originally aired on DC Universe. Since that service is moving away from original TV shows, WarnerMedia will release the show’s third season exclusively on HBO Max next year. The show’s first two seasons are already available on HBO Max, along with the entirety of The Big Bang Theory.