What happened to Donna? (Casting SPOILERS)

[ForKeeps]

Maybe she wasn't available. Maybe she's retired. Look at her IMDB, she hasn't done much more than a few episodes of TV in the last decade. Or maybe she just didn't want to do it. There are lots of possible reasons. It's not that hard to fathom.

[madeleineferguson]

I wish someone could reach out and ask Moira... we might be able to tell if she's signed an NDA.

I know that Lara Flynn Boyle isn't well, but it's a little strange we've not heard much from her either. I wonder if when they asked her back (if they actually did), they told her some details about the plot, but first had her sign an NDA?

[Dining With Diane]

Donna has always been the opposite of Laura. no drugs, no abuse, no working at One Eyed Jacks or posting ads in Flesh World.
given that she tried to imitate Laura at times, i think it would be interesting if Sheryl Lee was the new Donna Hayward

[metrojoe82]

I'm still choosing to believe Ashley Judd is Donna

[N. Needleman]

She ain't.

[LostInTheMovies]

She ain't.

Sheryl Lee, Ashley Judd, or both?

[metrojoe82]

Also down with Lee playing Donna. That would work for a variety of reasons.

[Jerry Horne]

I can assure everybody that Sheryl is not playing Donna

[N. Needleman]

Neither of them are playing Donna. I'm betting no one is playing Donna.

[LostInTheMovies]

So funny that the Hayward sisters, who have a total of maybe 8 minutes screentime combined, will be in it but Donna won't! Especially she was initially conceived as the primary female star of the show (well, alongside maybe Josie and Catherine - who also apparently won't be in it). I hope they at least address her absence.

[madeleineferguson]

I can assure everybody that Sheryl is not playing Donna

I am losing my shit that you know who Sheryl Lee is playing!

[madeleineferguson]

So funny that the Hayward sisters, who have a total of maybe 8 minutes screentime combined, will be in it but Donna won't! Especially she was initially conceived as the primary female star of the show (well, alongside maybe Josie and Catherine - who also apparently won't be in it). I hope they at least address her absence.

They have to address it, she's connected to too many characters we know are returning. Either in the book, or on the show there's got to be some word of her.

[Sidgwick]

I thought Kelly deputised well enough in FWWM, but it’s worth pointing that she is apparently infamous in West Wing circles for what is perceived to be a terrible performance in its first season. She wasn’t even given the dignity of being written out – she was Harriet-ed, funnily enough.

This may or may not account for her absence – I just thought it bore a mention.

I have no idea how Donna will be handled. The Twitter emoji struck me as a way of generating speculation respectfully – even a ‘no’ would have been more likely to be perceived as a transgression against the production.

[laughingpinecone]

I ended up liking Kelly more than LFB and I haven't seen her elsewhere, but I'm glad she's not reprising the role.
Regardless of one's opinion on the metaphysical fan theories about her change, I think we can all agree that even just the way Donna was written in FWWM underlines that Laura's death was a major turning point in her life. So to me, even just 100% figuratively, Kelly represents Donna's distant past, an innocence she can't go back to. Coherently, unless that happened to be exactly her character's trajectory (100% got over that trauma, went back to her previous self), I'm glad they're moving forward instead of going back...

[Dining With Diane]

I can assure everybody that Sheryl is not playing Donna

as long as it's not another identical cousin, as that would just be the wrong sort of silly.