Connie Britton has had a big couple of years on the small screen. First she decided to leave Nashville after five seasons, then moved on to a recurring role on Showtime's SMILF. She returned to network television with a regular role on Fox's smash hit freshman drama 9-1-1, but that gig was only slated to run for a single season. Now, Britton has signed on for a starring role on a brand new show that will take her back cable. Britton will star in the anthology series Dirty John on Bravo.
Dirty John will be based on the true crime podcast from Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard, who also wrote articles about the true story to be told by the series. It will tell the story of how successful interior designer and single parent Debra Newell fell in love with a man by the name of John Meehan, whose sheer charisma drew her into a status quo of secrets and manipulation. Connie Britton signed on to star as Debra Newell.
No news is yet available about who will play John Meehan or any of the other characters who will presumably have a similar part to play in the show as they did in the podcast. We can only hope that Bravo will land a strong cast to surround Connie Britton, as the show won't go anywhere for a while. Despite its nature as an anthology series based on a true story, the plot won't be wrapped up in a single batch of episodes. Earlier this year, Dirty John scored a straight-to-series order for two seasons. The podcast only ran for one set of episodes, and only six episodes in that one set.
The Dirty John series will either stretch the events of the podcast out to fill two seasons of television or take the story of Debra, John, and the rest of the characters beyond the events chronicled in the podcast. It's possible that the series will go in a fictional direction with some of the plot. Alternately, perhaps Christopher Goffard has some inside info on the story that he didn't bring to light in any articles or episodes of the podcast. Alexandra Cunningham of Chance and Desperate Housewives is on board as writer and executive producer.
Bravo has not yet announced how many episodes we can expect from Dirty John, when production will begin, or when we can expect the series to premiere. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news. If you're in the market for shows to watch while we wait for Connie Britton's return to TV in Dirty John, be sure to swing by our midseason TV premiere guide. Britton may be back sooner, as 9-1-1 creator Ryan Murphy has stated that he's working to bring her back at some point in 9-1-1 Season 2.
If streaming is more your style, check out our 2018 Netflix premiere schedule and our 2018 Amazon premiere guide. For the shows that will come to an end after the current TV season, take a look at our rundown of TV cancellations and renewals.
