It looks like Archie Panjabi has found the perfect follow-up to her Emmy Award-winning role as Kalinda in “The Good Wife,” and is set to star in her very own vehicle.
The London-born actress has been cast as the protagonist in “The Jury,” a new drama pilot from ABC.
The slated series, which seems primed to take advantage of the recent vogue for true crime programming (“American Crime Story,” “Making a Murderer”), tells the story of a single murder trial told from the perspective of individual jurors. Among its executive producers are “CSI” veteran — and real-life former lawyer — Carol Mendelsohn and her producing partner Julie Weitz.
Panjabi will play the lead, Kim Dempsey. Passionate about the truth and not one to suffer fools gladly, Kim is described as “a force of nature cloaked in a professional demeanor.”
Anyone familiar with Panjabi’s previous work will know that she can more than live up to that badass job description. Panjabi has long been a fan-favorite in supporting roles, not only as Kalinda in “The Good Wife,” but also as Professor Reed Smith in “The Fall”: the motorcycle-riding senior pathologist who is a much-needed confidante for Gillian Anderson’s DSI Stella Gibson. “The Jury” will finally give audiences the opportunity to see Panjabi headlining a series.
