The great Allison Williams has had a hand in many pop culture phenomena, but her contribution to the horror genre has been truly a delight to watch. After her highly successful reign as controlling Marnie on HBO’s Girls, she was an obvious choice to appear in Jordan Peele’s feature film debut.
Leaning on her good girl image, it was a genuine shock when she was revealed to be one of the main antagonists in Get Out. Building off the buzz of being an Oscar contender, Williams has found a comfortable space in genre films, particularly in the gift to humanity, M3GAN. Starring as the reluctant guardian to her recently orphaned niece, Williams’ Gemma finds herself at odds with an AI she created. M3GAN will be remembered as iconic for the genre, capitalizing on the trope of a killer doll akin to Annabelle.
But that hasn’t been the end of the journey into the macabre for the actor. Now, Williams is also jumping on the true-crime podcast train — but with a historical twist.
Allison Williams’ podcast will cover the first-ever U.S. murder trial
The world of true crime can get murky, especially when respect for victims comes into play. Some true crime podcasts can be accused of sensationalizing events and rehashing trauma for those who had experienced it. With Williams’ new podcast, this seems to be a non-issue. Entitled Erased, the Get Out actor explained to The Today Show that it was essentially a play taken from real transcripts. Williams will not be putting her spin on these events, but depicting them as true to life as possible.
“It’s a radio show with actors doing the voices of these people that we only have rough transcripts of the original court trial.”
Erased will cover the events of what is considered the first-ever murder trial in the United States. Throughout six episodes, the podcast will tell the story of Julia Elma Sands, whose body was discarded in a well that still stands in modern-day SoHo. Williams and her creative team will bring attention to this story about a victim who did not get justice. Even though Elma’s cousin tried to bring attention to the case, the cards were stacked against her.
Acting as the defendant’s co-counsel were none other than real-life historical figures Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. The transcripts were even written by a close friend of the Hamilton family, who questions how authentic these documents were to reality. Williams portrays the victim’s cousin, Catherine Ring, who faces terrible odds against two powerful men. Also a part of the production is Tony Goldwyn (Ghost, Scandal, Oppenheimer), in the role of Hamilton. Erased will be available wherever you get your podcasts.