It’s shaping up to be a big year for fans of The Mamas & the Papas.
Word out of early 2026 confirms that a major biopic, My Mama, Cass, is officially in the works – and it already sounds like one worth keeping on your radar.
Cass Elliot will be played by Jessica Gunning, fresh off her breakout turn in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer.
It’s inspired casting. Gunning has the emotional depth and screen presence to capture both Cass’s powerhouse vocals and the quieter, more vulnerable corners of her life.
Early buzz suggests fans are cautiously optimistic – and critics are intrigued.
The film is set to draw from the 2024 memoir My Mama, Cass, written by her daughter Owen Elliot-Kugell.
That detail alone hints at something more intimate than your standard rise-and-fall music biopic. Expect a portrait of Cass not just as a ’60s pop icon, but as a mother and a woman navigating an industry that wasn’t exactly built for outspoken, plus-sized trailblazers.
Production is in the hands of Veritas, the company behind the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. T
hat pedigree suggests a prestige approach — lush period detail, careful storytelling, and (hopefully) a soundtrack that does the catalogue justice.
Importantly, insiders say the film will also address – and finally debunk – the long-running “ham sandwich” myth surrounding Cass’s death, instead focusing on the truth: she died of a heart attack in 1974 at just 32 years old.
Narratively, the film will likely dive deep into the Laurel Canyon era – sun-soaked harmonies, internal band tensions, and the cultural swirl that defined late-’60s Los Angeles.
Think The Mamas & the Papas at their peak, the friction behind the scenes, and Cass stepping into her own as a solo star. Don’t be surprised if figures like Joni Mitchell and Michelle Phillips drift through the frame too.
If done right, My Mama, Cass could finally give one of pop’s most misunderstood voices the layered, loving spotlight she deserves.
