‘Feud: Capote’s Women’ Adds Treat Williams to Star-Studded Cast

Treat Williams
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The Season 2 cast of Ryan Murphy‘s Feud on FX continues to grow as Treat Williams joins the Capote’s Women ensemble in the pivotal role of former CBS executive Bill Paley. The new season is an adaptation of Laurence Leamer’s bestselling book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era.

It will focus on the 1970s era of novelist Truman Capote’s life, until his death in 1984. During this period, he suffered a serious case of writer’s block, leaving his final novel, Answered Prayers, unfinished. In 1975 he published a short story entitled “La Côte Basque 1965” in Esquire about the scandalous lives of his rich female friends, setting off a feud between them.

Babe and Billy Paley

Babe and Bill Paley in 1958 (Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

Williams, whose casting was unveiled by Deadline, joins Tom Hollander, who stars as Capote, alongside Calista FlockhartDiane LaneNaomi Watts, Molly Ringwald, and Chloë Sevigny. It has also been reported that Demi Moore is in talks to join Season 2, though that is yet to be confirmed.

Paley was the husband to one of Capote’s infamous “swans,” Babe Paley (Watts), and also the head of CBS at the time, so Williams will likely have a large presence in the series.

All eight episodes will be directed by twice Academy Award-nominated director Gus Van Sant, and written by Tony and Pulitzer-nominated Jon Robin Baitz, who serves as the showrunner. Using one director for the entire series is a trend that has worked with great success for other miniseries, including titles like Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects, which were helmed by the late Jean-Marc Vallée who received widespread critical acclaim.

Filming on Feud‘s second season is set to begin in New York this fall.

Feud: Capote’s Women, Season 2, TBA, FX