'Gossip Girl' Alum Penn Badgley Joins 'The Slap' Miniseries Cast

NBC rounds out its cast for its new miniseries The Slap by adding Gossip Girl alumnus Penn Badgley and Moonrise Kingdom's Lucas Hedges.

The Slap is an eight-episode miniseries based on the Australian series by the same name written by Jon Robin Baitz. The miniseries revolves around the fallout after a man slaps another couple's child at a barbecue when they're misbehaving.

"This small event sparks a massive family dispute that exposes secrets, prompts a lawsuit and tears the family apart," The Hollywood Reporter explained.

Hector's birthday party's where this slapping incident takes place and where everything begins. Hector will be played by The Killing's Peter Sarsgaard and his wife Aisha, who will be played by Thandie Newton, works really hard to plan his party. Hector's cousin is the one who slaps the child and causes the drama.

Deadline reported that Penn and Lucas signed on as regulars for the miniseries. The Gossip Girl star will play Jamie, Anouk's (Mary-Louise Parker from Weeds) 25-year-old boyfriend. Lucas, on the other hand, will play Ritchie, a friend of Connie's (Makenzie Leigh) who attends Hector's birthday party with her. Ritchie is in charge of monitoring the kids' baseball game when everything goes awry.

Melissa George will also star in the new miniseries. As a part of the original Australian version, Melissa isn't a stranger to the storyline. She will play Rosie, Gary's hippy wife and the mother of Hugo, who is homeschooled and sheltered.

Baitz will also be a part of the American version, serving as an executive producer on the NBC series. Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Ted Gold and Tony Ayres will also executive produce the project. The premiere date has yet to be set, but Lisa Cholodenko has been announced as the series director.

Other stars include Zachary Quinto and Brian Cox.