{"id":7405,"date":"2026-07-16T07:18:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T02:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7405"},"modified":"2026-07-16T07:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T02:18:31","slug":"lamorne-morris-abby-elliott-join-heidi-gardner-movie-swimming-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7405","title":{"rendered":"Lamorne Morris, Abby Elliott Join Heidi Gardner Movie Swimming Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tA dramedy feature starring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/heidi-gardner\/\" id=\"auto-tag_heidi-gardner_1\" data-tag=\"heidi-gardner\">Heidi Gardner<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/william-h-macy\/\" id=\"auto-tag_william-h-macy_1\" data-tag=\"william-h-macy\">William H. Macy<\/a> is getting ready to make a splash as it adds to its cast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/lamorne-morris\/\" id=\"auto-tag_lamorne-morris_1\" data-tag=\"lamorne-morris\">Lamorne Morris<\/a> (<em>Spider-Noir<\/em>, <em>Fargo<\/em>), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/abby-elliott\/\" id=\"auto-tag_abby-elliott_1\" data-tag=\"abby-elliott\">Abby Elliott<\/a> (<em>The Bear, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/snl\/\" id=\"auto-tag_snl_1\" data-tag=\"snl\">SNL<\/a><\/em>), Michael Strassner (<em>The Baltimorons<\/em>) and Joey Bicicchi (<em>Rudderless<\/em>) have joined the cast of <em>The Swimming Lesson<\/em>, <em>The Hollywood Reporter <\/em>has learned. <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/heidi-gardner-william-h-macy-the-swimming-lesson-1236601808\/\"><em>THR<\/em> previously broke the news<\/a> that Gardner and Macy will star in writer-director Casey Twenter\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/indie-film\/\" id=\"auto-tag_indie-film_1\" data-tag=\"indie-film\">indie film<\/a> that is set to begin production next month in Gardner\u2019s hometown of Kansas City. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t<em>The Swimming Lesson\u00a0<\/em>centers on Tay (Gardner), a single mother who leaves behind her complicated life in Los Angeles to return to her childhood home. She winds up embroiled in a custody battle over son Albee, an autistic child who is obsessed with the ocean but terrified of swimming. Macy co-stars as Leonard, Tay\u2019s foul-mouthed father whose blunt nature can sometimes disguise the fact that he remains loyal to his daughter and grandson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tMorris will play charming swim instructor Caleb, while Elliott takes on the role of Vickie, the new wife of Tay\u2019s ex. Additionally, Strassner plays Tay\u2019s longtime friend Reiger, and Bicicchi portrays Albee\u2019s newly sober father Steve. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tNewcomer Hudson Escudero makes his feature debut as Albee. The production prioritized casting an young autistic performer in the role to embody the character with lived experience. <\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1296px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((730\/1296)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Heidi-Gardner-and-William-H-Macy-Split-Getty-H-2026.jpg?w=1296\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"730\" width=\"1296\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">Heidi Gardner (left) and William H. Macy<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Nina Westervelt\/Variety\/Getty Images; Kristina Bumphrey\/Variety\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tTwenter marks his solo directorial feature debut with the project that he co-wrote with Jeff Robison. Twenter and Robison previously co-wrote the 2014 drama <em>Rudderless<\/em>, which was Macy\u2019s directorial debut and landed distribution after premiering at Sundance. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cFrom top to bottom, this is a murderers\u2019 row of talent,\u201d says Twenter. \u201cThis is a deeply personal story, and I\u2019m beyond grateful that these actors have chosen to tell it alongside me. Their excitement for the material has been energizing from the start, and it has only strengthened my own belief in what we\u2019re making.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t<em>The Swimming Lesson\u2019<\/em>s producers include Dan Koetting for KP\u2019s Remain and Robison for Kindling Productions, along with Jen Greenstreet and Mandi Kearns for Just Like You Films. Mark Williams serves as director of photography, and Mateo Messina is composing the music. Spark Casting\u2019s Stefanie Seifer and Hailey Giles are handling casting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tMorris is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360 and The Lede Company. Elliott is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency and OPE Partners. Strassner is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency and Stride Management. Bicicchi is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment. Escudero is repped by The Osbrink Agency, Rebel Creative Group and Campbell Agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A dramedy feature starring Heidi Gardner and William H. Macy is getting ready to make a splash as it adds to its cast. Lamorne Morris (Spider-Noir, Fargo), Abby Elliott (The Bear, SNL), Michael Strassner (The Baltimorons) and Joey Bicicchi (Rudderless) have joined the cast of The Swimming Lesson, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. THR previously&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Lamorne-Morris-Abby-Elliott-Michael-Strassner-and-Joey-Bicicchi-Getty-H-2026.jpg?w=1296&h=730&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}