Hailee Steinfeld's DICKINSON Series Adds John Mulaney as Henry David Thoreau and Wiz Khalifa as Death

I’ve been on the fence about the upcoming Apple TV+ series Dickinson, which takes some major liberties on the life and times of the famed poet Emily Dickinson (played by Hailee Steinfeld). From what I know, while Dickinson was a poet, only a handful of her poems were published while she was living, and she was very reclusive and communicated with most people through letters.

This series sees Dickinson as a wild teenager, running around with affluent friends and probably saying things like, “If the carriage is a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’,” or something equally obnoxious. I think it only seems weird because it’s so opposite of the real woman. Otherwise, I like the idea of wild teens in the 1840’s.

But now that comedian John Mulaney has joined the cast as poet and writer Henry David Thoreau, I’m in. I love John Mulaney and would watch him in anything. Plus he’s got that buttoned-up old timey feel about him that I think will make him perfect in this role. The series has also cast rapper Wiz Khalifa as Death. Creator of the series Alena Smith told EW that Khalifa was her dream actor for the role, so she was incredibly excited to get him for the part. Here’s how she described the character, and his relation to Steinfeld’s adaptation of Dickinson:

“I wanted Death to be the coolest guy in the world because Emily is in love with Death. Part of the story of the season is about her coming to a more realistic and mature understanding of Death, but where she begins is a kind of Goth worship of death. I just really wanted it to be someone that you would genuinely get excited to see.”

Plus the series will feature a lot of modern rap and hip hop, as well as a contemporary dialog and feel. So now I am considerably more interested, just to see how it all turns out. Catch Dickinson on Apple TV+ beginning November 1st. Are you excited?