Why Anna Pigeon Is a “Dream Come True” for Lea Thompson
All about the screen legend's surprising next career move.
Lea Thompson shot to fame as the star of ‘90s rom-com Caroline in the City, where she captured hearts as the quick-witted cartoonist Caroline Duffy. And somehow, it’s been 30 years since the show debuted.
“When we shot the pilot, I had just given birth to @zoeydeutch,” the 64-year-old recalled of her now 30-year-old daughter while celebrating the show’s anniversary, “couldn’t wait to get back to her and breastfeed.”
Throughout the show’s four-year run, she and costar Malcolm Gets won the TV Guide award for Best Kiss and Thompson won a best friend for life in Amy Pietz.
“Mostly I feel blessed to have worked with these amazing people,” she wrote on Instagram, “and had a chance to make you laugh.”
And now, she’s trading in that laughter for her darkest role yet in Anna Pigeon.
What is Lea Thompson doing now?
Thompson is directing and executive producing the new crime series Anna Pigeon, coming to USA Network in 2026. Based on a New York Times best-selling book series, the show follows Anna Pigeon (Tracy Spiridakos), a National Park Ranger who turns to the wilderness to escape her traumatic past, only to find herself investigating crimes deep within U.S. national parks.
“This is so exciting for me!” Thompson, a fan of author Nevada Barr’s books, wrote on Instagram. “I have been developing this show for 15 years, and it’s finally taking wing. Never give up, folks! Can’t wait to show you guys!”
The show marks the latest turn in Thompson’s illustrious career. Trained as a ballet dancer, she performed with the Minnesota Dance Theatre before relocating to Hollywood at age 20 to pursue a career in acting. Four years later, Jaws (1983) and All the Right Moves (1983) were already on her resume when she catapulted to a household Future, as Lorraine McFly in Back to the Future.
Over the years, she’s starred in more than 30 films, two dozen TV movies, and even tackled the iconic role Sally Bowles in Broadway’s "Cabaret."
More recently, she directed episodes of the Hallmark Channel’s Jane Doe Mysteries, in which she also starred as a suburban mom leading a double life as a secret federal agent. Her other directing credits include episodes of Switched at Birth, The Goldbergs, and Resident Alien, along with the 2017 film The Year of Spectacular Men, written by her 34-year-old daughter Madelyn Deutch.
RELATED: Chicago P.D. Alum Tracy Spiridakos Leading USA Network's Anna Pigeon Series
After pushing to bring Anna Pigeon to the screen, Thompson described directing the pilot as a “dream come true.”
“Hard work. Dreams can come true if you just keep at it,” she said in an Instagram Reel. “I teamed up with some amazing producers that wouldn’t give up, and I’ve got a storyboard, I’ve got call sheets, I’ve got a crew, and an amazing cast. I can’t wait for you to meet them.”
Joining Thompson and Spridakos are Star Trek: Discovery’s Ronnie Rowe Jr. plus Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz, Cooper Levy, and Ryan Northcott, Paulina Alexis, and Tricia Helfer.
Anna Pigeon premieres on USA Network in 2026.
