Killing Reagan: Tim Matheson and Cynthia Nixon to play Ronald and Nancy

After earning rave reviews for her dramatic work in the 2015 indie James White, Cynthia Nixon has found her next project, EW can confirm. The former Sex and the City actress will headline the National Geographic Channel’s 2-hour scripted movie, Killing Reagan, in which she will star opposite Tim Matheson (The West Wing) as Nancy and Ronald Reagan, respectively.

Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions will produce alongside conservative political commentator Bill O’Reilly. Rod Lurie (The Contender, Nothing But the Truth) will direct the TV movie from a script written by Oscar-winner Eric Simonson (A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin).

The film is based on the No. 1-selling book of the same name, the fourth literary collaboration by co-authors O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. According to a press release, the production will explore “how the attempted assassination on the newly elected president impacted his time in office” and “Reagan’s journey to the nation’s highest office and the challenges he faced to define himself as a leader.”

“Even nearly 30 years after his presidency, and more than 10 years after his death, Ronald Reagan’s mark on American politics and the global geopolitical landscape, through both his actions and his policies, still reverberates today,” O’Reilly said of the project via press release. “There is much that can be learned by looking back at that riveting period in history.”

National Geographic Channel previously adapted three of O’Reilly’s books into successful, Emmy-nominated programs: Killing Jesus, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Lincoln, which are the network’s top three most-viewed broadcasts of all time.

Killing Reagan is set to begin filming in late May, with a premiere date scheduled for fall 2016.

– Reporting by Breanne Heldman