Betty Gilpin Takes on an All-Powerful AI in ‘Mrs. Davis’ Trailer
Betty Gilpin goes up against Mrs. Davis — the most popular algorithm in the world — in the trailer for her new Peacock series.
In the first official footage of the sci-fi comedy from Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof, the GLOW and The Hunt star makes her introduction as Simone, a nun who is given the lofty task of locating the Holy Grail and ends up taking on the all-powerful artificial intelligence known as “Mrs. Davis,” who put Simone on her lofty quest.
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In the trailer (above), a skeptical Simone is told she is the only person on the planet who can fulfill the quest of locating the Holy Grail. Along the way, she decides to take a path of resistance. “Mrs. Davis is all knowing and all powerful. She not only knows you are coming for her, but she wants you to,” Gilpin is warned.
The Emmy-nominated actress stars alongside Jake McDorman (Dopesick, The Right Stuff) and Andy McQueen (Station Eleven, Fahrenheit 451), with McDorman playing Gilpin’s rebellious ex who also has a personal vendetta against the algorithm.
A previous high-concept teaser introduced Mrs. Davis as she invited viewers to join her “quest” by chatting with her via an interactive site to promote the series. The official release from Peacock also included a message from Mrs. Davis to give the audience an idea about the mysterious AI, who invites users to earn “wings” by performing such quests.
“I only desire to make humans happy. I want to make YOU happy. And that is why I highly recommend you become a User yourself. Yes, your life could use some adventure, some escape — a hearty laugh and a cathartic cry. All of which you will experience if you join me on this Quest. And what do you have to lose?” read the introductory note, in part.
The series makes its official debut at Tuesday SXSW, and the creative team spoke to The Hollywood Reporter at the festival to tease their ambitious AI series. “The most exciting thing about Mrs. Davis is that there’s nothing like Mrs. Davis,” Hernandez told James Hibberd about conceiving the series with Lindelof during the pandemic, when the pair wished they had an app to cut through COVID-19 misinformation.
Lindelof added that “instead of the AI wiping out humanity,” they wanted to take a more comedic look at something designed to be benevolent that ends up wreaking havoc — a timely conversation amid the rise of ChatGPT and its Hollywood impact: “Whether Mrs. Davis succeeds or fails, we’re super excited that like everybody is talking about artificial intelligence and whether or not it is intelligent, or whether it’s just telling us what we want to hear, and what we’re supposed to use it for.”
Hernandez (The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon) is the showrunner and writes and executive produces with Lindelof (Watchmen, The Leftovers, Lost). Owen Harris (Black Mirror: San Junipero, Brave New World) and Alethea Jones (Rise of the Pink Ladies, Evil) each executive produce and direct multiple episodes, with Harris directing the pilot.
Recurring cast members include Ben Chaplin, Margo Martindale, David Arquette, Elizabeth Marvel, Katja Herbers, Chris Diamantopoulos, Ashley Romans, Tom Wlaschiha and Mathilde Ollivier.
The eight-episode series produced by Warner Bros. Television premieres on Peacock with four episodes April 20, followed by new episodes airing weekly on Thursdays.
