Connie Britton has joined Bravo’s upcoming true-crime anthology series Dirty John as the female lead. This isn’t the first foray into an anthology for the veteran actress, who also starred in the first season of American Horror Story. She’s been on a roll on the small screen in recent years as a regular on Nashville and recurring appearances on SMILF and 9-1-1.

Dirty John is an adaptation of the successful podcast of the same name, hosted by Los Angeles Times investigative journalist Christopher Goffard and created by the Fox-backed podcast network Wondery. It tells the true story of John Meehan, the subject of a months-long investigation by Goffard that spiraled into a stunning web of deceit. Meehan also had a principal love interest, and now we know who will be playing her.

Deadline first reported on Monday that Britton has been tabbed to play Debra Newell in the Dirty John adaptation. Newell is an interior designer and single mom who falls in love with Meehan, only for their romance to devolve into “secrets, denial and manipulation.” Britton will also serve as executive producer on the series, which has a two-season, straight-to-season order from Bravo. Alexandra Cunningham (Chance) will adapt the series from Goffard’s original podcast and L.A. Times articles.

The story as told in the Dirty John podcast is based on interviews with the real-life Newell, some of her family members, and many other major figures in the tale of John Meehan. It all began when Goffard came across a report of the police investigating a possible homicide, and from there the bizarre true story of Meehan and his relationship with Newell grew.

The hope for Bravo is that Dirty John experiences the same kind of success that fellow anthologies American Horror Story and Black Mirror have experienced. It’s still a risk to order two seasons with no knowledge of what that second run will entail. You saw what could happen with a complete reset of a successful run with season 2 of True Detective. But there’s some high-quality source material for Bravo and the Dirty John cast to draw from, which gives the adaptation a chance to be as much of a hit as the podcast that inspired it.

Next: American Horror Story Season 9 Likely to be Murder House/Coven Crossover

Source: Deadline