How ‘The Miniature Wife’ Snagged That Jenna Bush Hager Cameo

The Miniature Wife features a cast full of TV all-stars, including one very recognizable reporter: Jenna Bush Hager.

That’s right, the Today With Jenna & Sheinelle cohost appears as herself in several moments of the series, including a buzzy interview with Elizabeth Banks‘ Lindy Littlejohn for Today. In the scene, Lindy has already been miniaturized and thus isolated from most of the ordinary world, but when the opportunity to appear on the morning show knocks, she simply has to find a way to make it work… even if she’s promoting a short story that she didn’t actually write.

Hager is a big get for the series, of course; she’s also expected to have a cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2 when that movie comes out in May. So how did the series bring her into the fold to portray herself for all of these key news broadcast moments?

Michael Ellenberg, CEO of Media Res Studio and executive producer on the new high-concept dramedy series, told TV Insider, “It’s a book-ish character. Lindy, she literally has writer’s block. But we thought Jenna Hager is awesome, and we’re such huge fans of hers. And I don’t think because we do The Morning Show she joined, but another show of ours is The Morning Show. So we’re massive admirers of Jenna’s, and we wanted to sprinkle as much of the real world into this as possible. And that’s, I think, part of the pleasure.”

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Ellenberg added that the high-profile cast of the series was probably another reason for Hager to join the fold: “Liz Banks and Matthew Macfadyen, obviously, were huge draws,” he said.

But, in the end, it was the script that got the former first child’s attention the most. “Jenna really loved the script,” Ellenberg said. “And you make it easy for them, also. It wasn’t a huge job.”

The Miniature Wife, Peacock