TV Guide this week reported that Gillian Anderson, best known for her role as Dana Scully in X-Files, has been cast in a TV pilot for NBC.
Cast alongside Anderson is Rachael Taylor, known for her work on Grey’s Anatomy, Charlie’s Angels, and 666 Park Avenue. According to TV Guide, Anderson and Taylor will play sisters in the new show, with Taylor starring as an FBI agent and Anderson starring as the CEO of a major company.
The show, which doesn’t have a title yet, will involve Washington D.C. blackmail, conspiracy, and law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and Secret Service. It’s a conceit that sounds vaguely similar to Showtime’s hit show Homeland. The show is being headed by Rand Ravich, known as the writer/director of The Astronaut’s Wife and the executive producer of the NBC series Life.
NBC had better hope that their Ravich project or other pilots, such as Hatfields & McCoys, turn out well, because the network’s peacock feathers are beginning to fade. Just last week NBC was projected to come in fifth in the ratings sweeps that took place between January 31 and February 19. Though shows such as The Biggest Loser and The Office received modest ratings, failures such as Do No Harm and 1600 Penn pulled the network below the ratings for Spanish-language network Univision.