Zoe Kazan Cast as Lead in New Lena Dunham Comedy

Zoe Kazan has replaced Lisa Joyce as the lead in Max, Lena Dunham’s 1960s comedy pilot for HBO about a feminist magazine writer named Maxine Woodruff. Joyce left the lead to focus on her role in another upcoming HBO comedy — Issa Rae’s Insecure.

Deadline believes “creative differences” concerning the future of the lead character may have contributed to the casting switch. From Deadline:

Max is described as a raucous comedy set in 1963 about the struggles of second-wave feminism, centered on an ambitious magazine writer, Maxine Woodruff (Kazan), looking for liberation. Maxine is an enthusiastic, if misguided, low-level magazine employee who stumbles into the forefront of a civil rights movement both she and the world may not be ready for.

Kazan previously worked with Dunham on Vote Audrey, a short film announcing the collaboration between fashion designer Rachel Antonoff and the brand, & Other Stories. The Ruby Sparks actress is also starring in another HBO pilot called The Deuce, while Insecure has already received a series commitment from the cable network.