Hilary Swank To Star As Journalist In New ABC Drama

Hilary Swank is set to star in a new ABC drama as a journalist who moves to Alaska to get a fresh start in life.

The upcoming drama is being written by Oscar winner Tom McCarthy who is also the show’s director and executive producer.

In the untitled drama, the award-winning actress plays the role of a journalist who “moves to Alaska for a fresh start after a career-killing misstep and finds redemption personally and professionally joining a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage,” according to TV Line.

Swank, who recently appeared in Season 8 of “Beverly Hills 90210” and in Netflix's sci-fi series “Away,” will also serve as executive producer of the project.

Also coming in as an executive producer for the upcoming show is former Fox 21 president Bert Salke. The Anchorage Daily News’ President and CEO Ryan Binkley and Special Projects Editor Kyle Hopkins are also the project's executive producers, as per Hollywood Reporter.

The upcoming Alaska drama is the first major show under the leadership of Hulu’s Craig Erwich who took on the role of president for ABC Entertainment in December 2020.

If the project will turn into a series, it would be Swank’s second time to appear in an ABC series following “Camp Wilder” which aired between 1992 to 1993. In the show, Swank played the role of Danielle, a friend of one of the main characters. "Camp Wilder" got axed after 19 episodes due to low ratings.

Swank is best known for the movies “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby,” which paved the way for her to win two Oscar trophies for best actress. She also appeared in the movies “ Freedom Writers,” “Conviction,” “The Core,” “Iron Jawed Angels" and “The Black Dahlia.”

Meanwhile, McCarthy won his Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 2015 film “Spotlight.” He was also previously nominated for the same award for the Pixar movie “Up.” “Stillwater” was his last directorial project that starred Matt Damon and is based on the Amanda Knox case.

The upcoming Alaska drama reflects a trend of Academy Award-winning actresses joining TV projects lately. Among them is Susan Sarandon who is set to appear as the lead character of a country music drama over at Fox titled, “Monarch.” Renee Zellweger will also be starring in the NBC true-crime drama, “The Thing About Pam.”