Hilary Swank is set to star in a drama from Tom McCarthy that has been ordered to pilot at ABC, Variety has learned.
In the untitled series, a star journalist (Swank) moves to Alaska for a fresh start after a career-killing misstep, and finds redemption personally and professionally joining a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage.
McCarthy is writing and directing the pilot in addition to serving as executive producer under his Slow Pony banner. Swank will executive produce in addition to starring. Bert Salke of Co-lab21, Melissa Wells of Slow Pony, and Kyle Hopkins and Ryan Binkley of the Anchorage Daily News will also executive produce. 20th Television is the studio.
Should the project go to series, it would not be the first time Swank has starred in an ABC series. She previously appeared in the short-lived ABC sitcom “Camp Wilder” early in her career. She also starred in Season 8 of the Fox drama “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Most recently, Swank starred in the Netflix space travel drama “Away.” She is best known for her film work, having won the Oscar for best actress for both “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby.” Her other feature credits include “Freedom Writers,” “Conviction,” “The Core,” “Iron Jawed Angels,” and “The Black Dahlia.”
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She is repped by WME, Management 360, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
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McCarthy is himself a three-time Oscar nominee, winning the award for best original screenplay for the film “Spotlight,” for which he was also nominated for best director. He was also nominated for best original screenplay for his work on the Pixar film “Up.” He most recently wrote and directed the Matt Damon-led drama “Stillwater” and is known for his work on films like “The Station Agent,” “Win Win,” and “The Cobbler.” In television, he co-created the limited series “The Loudest Voice” for Showtime.
He is repped by Gersh and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Anchorage Daily News and Hopkins are repped by CAA.
This is the latest example of an Academy Award-winning actress jumping into a broadcast TV project in recent weeks. Over at Fox, Susan Sarandon is set for a lead role in the country music drama “Monarch,” which will bow on the network at midseason. Renee Zellweger is also set to star in the NBC true crime drama “The Thing About Pam.”