'Private Practice's' KaDee Strickland to Star in NBC's Peter Berg Pulp Thriller 'Bloodline'

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KaDee Strickland

Private Practice's KaDee Strickland has found another fierce woman to portray.

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After six seasons as tough doc Charlotte King on the Shonda Rhimes drama, Strickland has been tapped to headline NBC's drama pilot Bloodline, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

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The contemporary pulp thriller revolves around an young orphan girl named Bird Benson (The Nine Lives of Chloe King's Skyler Samuels), who because of an accident of birth is caught in the struggle between two warring families of mercenaries and killers. Mentored by a Chinese man, Bird has to accept the quest to find and defeat her mother in mortal combat if she is to ever lead a normal life.

Strickland will play Stella Killpriest, Bird's mother. She's described as a loose cannon with an epic attachment disorder who is one of the twin pillars of the series. Stella has been raised in a family descended from an ancient line of killers, brigands and mercenaries. The culture within the family puts women last -- and that doesn't sit well with Stella, who is a warrior in her own right and tired of being controlled.

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The actress joins a cast that also includes Breaking Bad's Jonathan Banks, who will play Stella's father, Leo Killpriest, the patriarch of an ancient line of killers. He's a powerful and forceful guy who's worried that the last remaining members of his scattered family will be wiped off the face of the earth because they've lost touch with the old ways. Leo's the guy who wants to put the bloodline back together and is building the army to do so. He's the dagger hidden in a smile.

Awake's David Granziano will pen the pilot and executive produce alongside Peter Berg, who will direct. Film 44's Sarah Aubrey also will executive produce the Universal Television entry.

Strickland, whose credits also include the features American Gangster, Fever Pitch and The Grudge, is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Stone Meyer. Private Practice ended its run in January; Strickland's onscreen son, Griffin Gluck, also has found his follow-up gig in ABC's untitled Cullen brothers comedy.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit