The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that the upcoming USA Network crime thriller Briarpatch has expanded its all-star cast led by Luke Cage vet Rosario Dawson and Fear the Walking Dead alum Kim Dickens with the additions of Instinct‘s Alan Cumming and Up star Ed Asner for recurring roles.
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Briarpatch follows Allegra Dill (Dawson), a dogged investigator returning to her border-town Texas home after her sister is murdered. What begins as a search for a killer turns into an all-consuming fight to bring her corrupt hometown to its knees.
In the vein of her Gone Girl role (get the book now), Dickens has signed on to portray Chief of Police Eve Raytek, a tough-as-nails authority figure who is more than committed to finding the killer of Allegra’s sister and knows how to get around professionally in a male-dominated environment.
Asner, who is best known for his roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Elf, and Up, will portray James Staghorne Sr, the owner of the town’s newspaper and power broker at city hall who never hides his racism and chooses to only speak to Jimmy Jr., his son. Cumming, who has made a name for himself on the small screen in the past few years with roles on CBS’ The Good Wife and Instinct, will play Clyde Brattle, a murderous yet elegant arms dealer that is targeted by the Senate for an investigation, headed by Allegra, and chooses to return to town to settle old scores while on the run.
Dawson recently starred in The CW’s Jane the Virgin, and as Claire Temple in Netflix’s Marvel universe, appearing in Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Defenders. Her movie credits include The 25th Hour, Sin City, Rent, and Unstoppable. Upcoming, she will be appearing in Jordan Peele’s Weird City, as well as the comedy romance feature Someone Great.
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Chris McCumber, president of entertainment networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment commented on the Briarpatch series, saying: “When we were first introduced to the anthology by Andy Greenwald, UCP and Paramount Television, we were immediately struck by the show’s unique tone and captivating story. And Sam Esmail’s incomparable vision and style, coupled with Rosario Dawson’s tremendous performance as Allegra Dill, will no doubt leave audiences buzzing.”
Jay R. Ferguson (The Conners), Brian Geraghty (The Alienist), and Edi Gathegi (StartUp) also star in the series. The adaptation was penned by Andy Greenwald, who will executive produce alongside Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) via Esmail Corp. Ana Lily Amirpour directed the pilot and will also executive produce, along with Anonymous Content’s Chad Hamilton. Dawson serves as a producer on the series, which was produced by Universal Cable Productions and Paramount Television.
Production on Briarpatch Season 1 will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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