Anna Paquin was a well-known actress before she landed the gig on True Blood, but she spent seven seasons on the HBO drama before the show called it quits in 2014. Over the last couple of years, Anna Paquin has taken a few small roles, but now it looks like she's landed another lead TV gig. She's signed on to star in an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel, Alias Grace.
Anna Paquin is set to star in the miniseries, playing Nancy Montgomery, a Canadian woman living in the mid 1800s. She's the housekeeper to Thomas Kinnear, a man who famously was murdered, along with Montgomery. The novel, while not as well-known as other works by Atwood like The Handmaid's Tale, is famous for the way it is constructed, with a shifting point of view that looks at the murders and subsequent investigation.
If this project sounds familiar, that's probably because it has been in development for a while. Sarah Polley announced like four years ago that she was trying to put together a movie for the big screen. The project never moved forward on that medium, but now as a TV miniseries, the story should be able to be fleshed out even more in-depth. Sarah Polley is still on board as a writer and a producer, and Mary Harron is set to direct the mini.
Alias Grace is going to be one of those cross-productions between a couple of different companies. The CBC is producing the mini-series alongside Netflix, which means that if you live in Canada you can catch the episode on CBC. If you live anywhere else, the six-episode miniseries will be available through Netflix. It's the same sort of deal that Netflix has worked out with other Canadian TV programs, including the apocalyptic thriller Between.
It's not just Anna Paquin who has landed a role on Alias Grace. Production has already started, and Sarah Gadon is set to play Grace Marks and Zachary Levi; we'll keep you updated regarding other casting news as the miniseries moves forward.
Anna Paquin has made a mark on both the big and small screen with some memorable roles, including playing Rogue in the X-Men franchise and playing popular character Sookie Stackhouse on HBO's True Blood. She's a good fit for television in particular, and while Alias Grace is only a miniseries, it is a lead role--much bigger than the small gig on Roots we saw her in earlier this year. A few months ago, we also learned that she was signed on for a potential ABC pilot, although that might not be going anywhere. Hopefully, this will lead to another full-time TV series in the soon-to-be future.
Because Alias Grace is already shooting, we should expect to see it sooner rather than later, although no official premiere date has been announced, yet. For now, you can see what else TV has coming up with our fall premiere schedule or check out what is coming to Netflix here.
