“Elle,” the “Legally Blonde” prequel series, has found Elle’s mom.
June Diane Raphael has joined the Amazon Prime Video project as Eva, joining the previously announced Lexi Minetree as Elle. The series follows a younger Elle Woods, who was played by Reese Witherspoon in the two “Legally Blonde” films, finding her footing in high school.
“Elle” is created by Laura Kittrell (“High School,” “Insecure”), who is an executive producer and co-showrunner alongside Caroline Dries. Witherspoon is executive producing the show through her Hello Sunshine banner, alongside Lauren Neustadter and Marc Platt. The first two episodes will be directed by Jason Moore. “Elle” is produced by Hello Sunshine and Amazon MGM Studios.
The original 2001 “Legally Blonde” film was a box office success, grossing over $140 million worldwide. Its sequel, “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde,” was released in 2003. A direct-to-video third film came out in 2009, which Witherspoon produced but did not star in. A stage musical based on the first film debuted on Broadway in 2007, receiving multiple Tony and Drama Desk nominations.
Raphael is best known for playing Brianna Hanson across seven seasons of “Grace and Frankie” and Julie Gristlewhite on “Burning Love.” Her TV credits also include “New Girl,” “Big Mouth,” “Based on a True Story,” “Abbott Elementary,” “Frasier,” “Black Monday,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Parks and Recreation.” On the film side, she’s appeared in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Year One,” “Blockers” and “Long Shot.” She’ll next be seen in “Barbarian” director Zach Cregger’s next film, “Weapons.” She is also executive producing and starring in the Amazon MGM and Lionsgate pilot “DINKS” alongside her real-life husband, Paul Scheer.
Deadline broke the news.
