Oscar winner Anna Paquin will star in “Bellevue,” an upcoming crime drama centered around the disappearance of a transgender teen.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that the “True Blood” alum will play Annie Ryder, a detective in a small town investigating the case of a missing transgender teen. “Foul play” is suspected — an unfortunate reality for many trans people.
Paquin herself identifies as LGBTQ: she is bisexual. No word on who has been cast as the transgender teen, but hopefully a trans actor is hired for the gig rather than a cisgender one.
“Bellevue” was created by actress Jane Maggs (“Republic of Doyle”) and writer-director-producer Adrienne Mitchell (“Bomb Girls”).
The series is being made for CBC, a Canadian network. Paquin was born in Canada, though she grew up in New Zealand.
Eight one-hour episodes are planned, and “Bellevue” is scheduled to debut in winter of 2017. Production will take place in Montreal.
Paquin just joined the cast of “Alias Grace,” a TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s book of the same name. The miniseries, a collaboration between Netflix and CBC, was written and produced by Sarah Polley (“Stories We Tell,” “Away from Her”) and will be directed by Mary Harron (“American Psycho”).
In 1994, Paquin won an Academy Award for her performance in Jane Campion’s “The Piano.” She was 11 years old. Paquin’s recent credits include “Roots,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” and “Susanna.”