Melissa George is headed to ABC.
The Hunted alum has nabbed the second female lead in ABC's Richard LaGravenese soapy drama pilot, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Set in New York City, the drama revolves around the love and rivalry between two equally matched, powerful socialites who play out their obsessive attraction to and seduction of each other through their manipulation of others.
PHOTOS: Faces of Pilot Season 2014
George will play Margot Worth Cole, a beautiful woman whose power, style and intellect command attention the instant she enters a room. Margot has been a member of high society for years -- and her social status is threatened by her imminent divorce from billionaire Anderson Cole (Oded Fehr). She has a romantic history with Philip (Rufus Sewell) and considers him her only equal in a world of inferiors. Margot is outraged when she learns that she's been duped by Anderson in their divorce settlement. Unwilling to play the fool in public, Margot wants her revenge on Anderson, pointing her ex-lover Philip at Anderson's innocent fiancee Cecelia.
Katie Holmes is set as Ann, a well-bred woman who is described as Audrey Hepburn-esque. She and her husband run a philanthropic foundation that helps bring clean water to African villages. Childless, she thinks she'd like to raise a family, but she can't get her philanthropic husband to settle down in one spot for very long. Meanwhile, socialite couple Margot and Philip make a bet to reveal the lie of true love by destroying Ann's perfect marriage.
STORY: TV Pilots 2014: The Complete Guide
LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You) will pen the script and executive produce the ABC Studios pilot alongside Erwin Stoff, Ilene Staple, Wren Arthur and Olive Productions' Steve Buscemi and Stanley Tucci. Taylor Hackford will direct the pilot, which will film in New York.
For George, the role marks her return to ABC where she had a multiple-season role on Alias and Grey's Anatomy. Her TV credits include Home and Away, In Treatment, Hunted and The Good Wife. She's repped by Vic Murray Talent in the U.K., 3 Arts and Stone Meyer.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
