Actress on new Netflix show has strong Asheboro ties

Carey Durham

ASHEBORO — If you have been tuning in to watch the new Netflix comedy “Leanne” since its premiere on July 31, 2025, you probably didn’t know that one of this hit TV show’s actresses, Hannah Pilkes, has strong Asheboro ties.

Pilkes plays Josie, the mischievous daughter of the show’s star, actress/comedienne Leanne Morgan, and in real life she is the daughter of Lucette “Luke” Neal, who grew up on Parkview Street (and later Rockridge Road) in Asheboro; Hannah’s father is Simon Pilkes, and the proud parents currently live in New York City where they own an international travel agency.

Local residents will remember “Luke” Neal’s father, “Duck” Neal, who was a long-time marketing executive with Stedman Manufacturing. Her mother and Pilkes’ grandmother, Henriette Neal, was an art teacher at Asheboro High School and former president of the Randolph Zoo Society. 

A fierce promoter of the dramatic arts, Henriette attended the Art Student’s League in New York City after her 1945 graduation from UNC-Greensboro. Later settling in Randolph County, she helped form the Asheboro Artist League and served for 35 years on the Angel Advisory Committee of the Drama Department at her alma mater. With that DNA, it’s not a real surprise that granddaughter Hannah tended towards becoming an actress.   

Born in Philadelphia, Hannah Pilkes grew up in New York watching such popular sitcoms as 

“Friends,” “Will & Grace” and “Dharma & Greg.

The latter was spearheaded by Chuck Lorre, co-creator of “Leanne.” It’s a heartwarming comedy about a spirited grandmother (played by 59-year-old Leanne Morgan) whose life is turned upside down when her husband of 33 years leaves her for another woman. If Lorre’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he also created two other TV comedy classics, “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Pilkes entered the acting business at age 11, when she played alongside Kevin Bacon in the 2004 child abuse drama “The Woodsman.” It was her first-ever audition, and this movie experience was understandably “intense”; however, her strong performance garnered her two acting nominations (for Best Debut Performance by the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film by the Young Artists Awards). 

Pilkes’ interest in comedy came later during her teen years, as she trained in the Los Angeles branch of Second City. After working on the road with comics Meg Stalter and Caitlin Reilly, she began performing on the sketch comedy show “Sorry Not Sorry” and the award-winning podcast “Comedy Bang! Bang!” which really blew up during the pandemic. 

In “Leanne,” the 33-year-old Pilkes is acting amongst comedic royalty, including Kristen Johnston (“Mom” and “3rd Rock from the Sun”), Ryan Stiles (“The Drew Carey Show” and “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) and Celia Weston (“Alice” and “Modern Family”). But, of course, the real star of the show is Tennessee-born actress/comedienne Leanne Morgan, who in recent years has become a comedic sensation for her Facebook postings and Netflix specials as well as selling out arenas all over the country with her hilariously personal brand of stand-up comedy. Morgan also made her film debut in the recent romantic comedy “You’re Cordially Invited” starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon.

So, if you want a fun time, look out for Netflix’s streaming series “Leanne” and enjoy Hannah Pilkes’ character Josie, who is admittedly “super-opinionated, a little crass, and quite cheeky.” The young actress is loving this opportunity to bring such a quirky character to life, and no doubt her dear maternal grandmother, who passed away in 2011 at age 87, is cheering Hannah on as her special “angel advisor” from above.