‘White Lotus’ Alum Haley Lu Richardson Joins Emilia Clarke in Peacock Spy Thriller Series ‘Ponies’

Haley Lu Richardson is set for a lead role opposite Emilia Clarke in the upcoming Peacock series “Ponies,” Variety has learned.

The show was announced with a straight-to-series order at Peacock back in August with Clarke set as one of the leads. The show is described as an espionage thriller set in Moscow in 1977.

The official description states:

“Two ‘Ponies’ (‘persons of no interest’ in intelligence speak) work anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. That is until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, and the pair become CIA operatives. Bea (Clarke) is an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants. Her cohort, Twila (Richardson), is a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless. Together, they work to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy and solve the mystery that made them widows in the first place.”

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Like “Game of Thrones” star Clarke, Richardson received plenty of praise for her role in an HBO drama. In Richardson’s case, it was Season 2 of “The White Lotus,” in which she starred as Portia, personal assistant to Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya McQuoid. Richardson is otherwise known for her work in film, having starred in features like “Split,” “The Edge of Seventeen,” “Columbus,” “Support the Girls,” and “Unpregnant.”

She is repped by Gersh, Viewpoint, and Sloane Offer.

“Ponies” hails from co-creators, co-writers, and executive producers Susanna Fogel and David Iserson. Fogel will also direct for the series, while Iserson will serve as co-showrunner along with fellow executive producer Mike Daniels. Clarke will executive produce in addition to starring. Jessica Rhoades executive produces under her Pacesetter Productions banner. Pacesetter’s Alison Mo Massey will co-executive produce along with Katherine Bridle. Universal Television will produce.