Having conquered the fantasy genre, Lena Headey is moving into sci-fi for her next TV role.
Game of Thrones‘ erstwhile Queen Cersei will star in the sci-fi psychological thriller Beacon 23 for AMC and Spectrum Originals, EW has learned. Headey will play Aster, a woman who mysteriously finds her way to a lonely beacon-keeper on his lighthouse in the darkest recesses of space. The actress will also executive produce the series alongside creator Zak Penn, whose credits include the scripts for Ready Player One and The Incredible Hulk.
“Lena Headey was a wonderful, versatile actress before she gave one of the defining performances in television history. So, as they say, ‘no pressure,'” Penn said in a statement. “I’m thankful to all the people making this show possible, they just keep delivering beyond my expectations.”
“We had exactly one person in mind when thinking about who could play Aster — who could bring the strength, the vulnerability and the brilliance to Zak’s complex character? No one but Lena Headey,” added Katherine Pope, head of Spectrum Originals. “We couldn’t be more excited to go on this thrill ride with Lena and Zak leading the way.”
Based on the novel by Hugh Howey, Beacon 23 follows a tense battle of wills as Halan, the beacon-keeper, begins to question whether Aster is friend or foe. Their fates, however, soon become entangled when they find themselves trapped together at the end of the known universe.
This will mark Headey’s first regular live-action TV role since the conclusion of Game of Thrones in 2019. In the interim, she has done voice work for, among other series, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Infinity Train, and starred in the Showtime comedy pilot Rita, which has yet to be ordered to series. She will also voice Evil-Lyn in Kevin Smith‘s Masters of the Universe series for Netflix.
Beacon 23 will be released via Spectrum Originals for a nine-month exclusive run before airing on AMC. A premiere date has not yet been set.
