Lifetime's Nicholas Sparks pilot is adding a Friday Night Lights alum to its ranks.
Katherine Willis has boarded Deliverance Creek, the two-hour backdoor pilot from the best-selling author, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Willis, who played the mother to Scott Porter's Jason Street, will portray Cordelia, a powerful and imposing woman who owns the local bank and is an adversary to Belle.
STORY: Nicholas Sparks Drama Gets Backdoor Pilot Order at Lifetime
The pilot is set at the end of the Civil War and follows Belle Barlowe (Lauren Ambrose) as she faces uncertainty as she attempts to defend her family’s land by any means necessary. When the corrupt bank that runs their town pushes Belle into becoming an outlaw, the stakes become personal, setting off a chain of events that force her to question whether it's better to be good or to survive.
She joins a cast that also includes Wes Ramsey (Pretty Little Liars), Cyril Balfour, Yaani King (Mad Men), Joel Johnstone (Newsroom), Riley Smith and Christopher Bacus.
Melissa Carter (Jane by Design) will write and executive produce the Warner Horizon Television drama alongside Sparks and the author's longtime literary agent, Theresa Park, via their year-old production company, Nicholas Sparks Productions. Elise Henderson, head of TV at Nicholas Sparks Productions, is on board as a co-EP. Jon Amiel will direct.
Willis, repped by Collier Talent Agency, most recently guest starred on The Lying Game and Drop Dead Diva.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
