ABC may want to stock up on tea and Stevia because Lydia's coming to town. Ok, it's probably unfair to assume that actor Laura Fraser shares her Breaking Bad character's preference for hot beverages and natural sweeteners, but ABC will be benefiting from Fraser's acting talent as she's set to play a regular role in the network's limited series The Black Box.
The 13-episode drama stars Kelly Reilly as Elizabeth Black, "a world renowned neuroscientist who is constantly haunted by her own struggled with mental illness." TVLine reports that Fraser has been cast to play the role of Regan Black, the wife of Joshua (David Chisum), brother to Elizabeth. She joins Vanessa Redgrave, who's on board to play Elizabeth's psychiatrist "and the keeper of all of her secrets."
Beyond the fact that she's Reilly's character's sister-in-law, no specifics about the nature of Fraser's character were mentioned, but after watching the fifth season of Breaking Bad, it's easy to picture her playing someone tightly wound. Fraser was one of the late arrivals to Breaking Bad, playing the intense, paranoid and greedy Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, a woman who proved to be particularly resourceful, though she had very little regard for human life unless it was her own. You wouldn't be able to tell from her accent on Breaking Bad, Fraser was born in Glasgow, Scotland. You can hear traces of her native accent in this interview she did for THR about the remainder of Season 5. If you're really behind on Breaking Bad, the safe option is to skip it. And probably to read no further:
We can only hope that Regan Black will be a bit more compassionate when it comes to the people around her than Lydia was. Of course, Fraser hasn't only played villainous types. Her earlier credits include the part of the very capable blacksmith Kate in A Knight's Tale:
In other news related to Breaking Bad, there's been no shortage of great videos and tributes to the series out there since the AMC drama wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Here's a pretty great fan-made trailer that covers the full series. It's minimal on major spoilers, though there are some glimpses of images that are spoilery if you recognize the context. If you've already seen the series, be warned, watching this may make you want to watch the whole series all over again…
