Laverne Cox is going from Litchfield Penitentiary to the courtroom.
The Orange Is the New Black breakout has been tapped to co-star in CBS' buzzy legal drama Doubt, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The drama revolves around a yet-to-be-cast smart, chic, successful defense lawyer at a boutique firm who shockingly gets romantically involved with one of her clients who may or may not be guilty of a brutal crime.
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Cox, in one of the biggest showings of diversity yet this pilot season, will co-star as Cameron Wirth, a role specifically created for a transgender actress. The character is described as a transgender Ivy League-educated attorney who is as competitive as she is compassionate. She's fierce, funny and the fact that she's experienced injustice first hand makes her fight all the harder for her clients.
Grey's Anatomy alums and married writing duo Tony Phelan and Joan Rater will pen the script and executive produce the CBS Television Studios drama alongside prolific producers Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly.
For Cox, the role marks her largest gig to date following her Emmy-nominated guest actress in a comedy role as Orange inmate and salon maven Sophia Burset. Cox made history with her Emmy nomination in July, becoming the first openly transgender actress to garner such recognition from the TV Academy. The GLAAD Award winner has since booked multiple guest roles on series including MTV's Faking It, Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, and most recently, Fox's The Mindy Project, in addition to nabbing an MTV documentary spotlighting trans youth.
Cox is repped by Hartig Hilepo Agency Ltd. and Peikoff Mahan.
Diversity has been a major theme this pilot season following the success this season of Fox's Empire and ABC's Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, How to Get Away With Murder and, to some degree, Cristela as the broadcast networks look to both become more representative of society and court new audiences. Doubt has already emerged as one of the stronger drama pilots this season, with offers to big-name actors.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
