“Agent Carter” star Hayley Atwell has been cast as the lead in ABC drama pilot “Conviction,” Variety has confirmed.
Atwell will star as another character named Carter — Carter Morrison, the brilliant but rebellious daughter of a former president, who is blackmailed into taking a job as the head of Los Angeles’ newly created Conviction Integrity Unit. Along with a team of lawyers, investigators and forensic experts, she’ll investigate cases where there’s credible suspicion that the wrong person may have been convicted of a crime.
If Atwell’s “Agent Carter” is renewed for a third season, it’s said that the British thesp’s schedule will be worked out to accommodate both shows.
The series hails from ABC Studios and The Mark Gordon Company. Liz Friedman wrote the pilot, Liz Friedlander will direct, and both will executive produce along with Mark Gordon and Nick Pepper.
Regardless of whether or not “Conviction” is picked up to series, The Mark Gordon Co. already has a drama series on ABC’s slate for next season: “Designated Survivor,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, landed a straight-to-series order of 13 episodes in December.
“Marvel’s Agent Carter” has never been a ratings juggernaut for ABC on Tuesday nights — the most recent episode drew 2.9 million viewers and a 0.8 rating — but the series scores notable gains in Live+3 and Live+7 playback among the adults 18-49 demo, with last week’s telecast spiking 63% from three days of playback (from a 0.8 in L+SD to a 1.3) and the second season premiere jumping 78% after seven days (from a 0.9 in L+SD to a 1.6).
