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Viola Davis leads new thriller for Peacock and we're all in

The ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ star will play a problem solver in the upcoming thriller

Paramount+ has announced a new thriller, which will star renowned actress Viola Davis in the lead role. The ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ star will also be producing the thriller series, titled ‘Ascent.’ She will play Catriona Vail, a problem solver with billion-dollar clients. Paramount's description of the upcoming thriller reads, “Set in the high-pressure world of global corporate crisis and damage control, Ascent follows elite fixer Catriona Vail, played by Davis, whose ruthless expertise has made her indispensable to billion-dollar clients. But when her estranged daughter is placed in danger, Vail must turn those same hard-earned skills toward the most personal fight of her life.”

Tony Award winner and three-time Academy Award nominee John Logan will serve as showrunner, creator, and executive producer. Fans might know him for his work on renowned projects, including ‘Skyfall’, ‘Michael’, ‘Gladiator’, ‘Penny Dreadful’, and more. Expressing her excitement about the project, Davis shared, “I am overwhelmingly excited about this journey with the great John Logan. We won the lottery with this one! Work in which both story and character are bold, awe inspiring and deeply unique is why I became an artist.” She added, “We at JuVee are deeply grateful to John Logan, Michael Aquilar, and Paramount. We are ready to create magic!”

​Along with screenwriter and creator Logan, the upcoming project will also have Michael Aguilar (from ‘Penny Dreadful: City of Angels’, ‘Kidding’, and ‘The Departed’) as an executive producer. He will be joined by Davis and Julius Tannon via JuVee Productions. According to Jane Wiseman, Head of Originals for Paramount+, the combination of talent in front of and behind the cameras will make ‘Ascent’ one of the “service’s most exciting upcoming originals.” She added, "Viola Davis doesn’t just take on roles; she transforms them." She also spoke about the lead character that Davis will play, saying, “Catriona Vail is an incredibly complex character and Viola is exactly the generational talent to bring her to life.”

The Paramount Television Studios series will begin production in 2027 in Los Angeles on the Paramount Lot. As Paramount Television Studios’ President, Matt Thunell stated, "the icing on the cake is being able to shoot Ascent here at home on the Paramount Lot in Los Angeles."