Nellie Andreeva

Ellen Burstyn Political AnimalsEllen Burstyn is the latest addition to the cast of Political Animals, USA Network’s 6-episode drama series from Greg Berlanti, Laurence Mark and Warner Horizon, which premieres this summer. Written by Berlanti, the Washington DC-based series is a fictional look at an ex-first family and centers on Elaine Barrish (Sigourney Weaver), the divorced former First Lady and newly appointed Secretary of State who throws herself into the job after recovering from the dissolution of her marriage to Bud Hammond (Ciaran Hinds) and losing the presidential nomination. She attempts to keep her family together, while simultaneously dealing with crises of the State Department and a hungry DC journalist (Carla Gugino) bent on destroying her career. Burstyn will play Elaine’s mother Margaret Barrish, a tough Chicago broad and one-time Vegas showgirl whose biting tongue and sharp wit haven’t softened despite her daughter’s position and she’s the first one to whip open a bottle of booze to help her through a political evening. Also previously cast in the series are James Wolk, Sebastian Stan and Brittany Ishibashi.

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