Kaley Cuoco to Star as Doris Day in New Series

The Flight Attendant star Kaley Cuoco will play the late Doris Day in a limited series about the legendary actress and singer’s life. The former Big Bang Theory actress will produce the project through her Yes, Norman Productions, alongside Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, her collaborators on The Flight Attendant. Cuoco nabbed the screen rights to A.E. Hotchner’s book Doris Day: Her Own Story, which will provide the basis for the series.

Hotchner’s book was published in 1976 and contains his interviews with Day. Cuoco, 35, will also play Day in the series, which does not have a network attached yet, reports Variety. The executive producers include Cuoco, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and David Madden. Bob Bashara, the trustee from the Doris Day estate, will be a co-producer. Jim Pierson, who worked with Day, and Hotchner’s son Tim Hotchner signed on as consulting producers.

Day died on May 13, 2019, at age 97. She achieved fame in the early 1940s as a big band singer before transitioning to Hollywood stardom. She was one of the biggest stars of the 1950s and early 1960s, with credits like Calamity Jane, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The Pajama Game. Her most successful run of movies were her collaborations with Rock Hudson, including Pillow Talk, the only movie to earn her an Oscar nomination. Day’s fame began to decline in the late 1960s as a new wave of Hollywood filmmakers came in.

The star was married four times. After her third husband, Martin Melcher, died in 1968, she was left broke and was forced to turn to television. She starred in the successful The Doris Day Show from 1968 to 1973. During her life, Day also became known as an animal rights activist, which likely attracted Cuoco’s attention as an animal lover herself.

As for Cuoco, she told Variety earlier this year she was close to securing the rights to develop a series about Day’s life. She is now working on Harley Quinn Season 3 and The Flight Attendant Season 2. The Flight Attendant earned Cuoco her first Golden Globes nomination and is now available to stream on HBO Max. “I never thought I’d get a nomination for anything, ever — that was not a goal or a thought in my mind,” Cuoco told Variety. “I’m going to keep going up, and there’s nothing stopping me now. And I feel there’s a lot more on the horizon because I think my career just started.”

Cuoco shared the Day project news on Instagram, adding a quote from Day’s signature song, “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).” Her fans also celebrated the news. “Doris Day is such a legend and exceptional human being. I’m certain you will make her fans proud,” one fan wrote. “That’s awesome!! Congrats,” another chimed in.