Julia Stiles to Star in TNT’s ‘Guilt By Association’

Following a lengthy search, TNT’s legal drama pilot Guilt by Association has cast its female lead.

Dexter alum Julia Stiles has been tapped to star in the drama based on prosecutor Marcia Clark‘s book of the same name, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Guilt by Association follows three women: deputy district attorney Rachel Knight, LAPD detective Bailey Keller (Elisabeth Rohm) and prosecutor Toni LaCollette (Rose Rollins) — each of whom end up embroiled in the same cases.

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Stiles will play Rachel, a talented deputy district attorney in the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office who sometimes operates outside the law in order to uphold it. As a member of the Special Trials Unit, Rachel is at her best when prosecuting society’s worst. Driven by compassion but haunted by guilt, Rachel tackles the department’s most difficult cases and does so with humor, an edge, and an “evidence is for pussies” attitude. When the suspicious death of a close colleague throws her own judgment into question, Rachel must rely on her connections and instincts to solve the case and clear her friend’s name. Unorthodox, impulsive, maybe even self-destructive, Rachel will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

Stiles, who had multiple broadcast and cable pilot offers this season, takes over the role after Neve Campbell dropped out of the project.

Clark — who famously served as lead prosecutor during the O.J. Simpson trial, co-wrote the pilot with Nashville‘s Dee Johnson. Clark, Johnson and Nelson McCormick serve as exec producers on the drama.

Stiles, who earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her guest role as Lumen on Showtime’s Dexter, would make her TV series regular debut should Guilt move forward. She currently stars in Hulu’s web series Blue. Her feature credits include Girl Most Likely, Silver Linings Playbook, the Bourne franchise and the upcoming Five Minutes to Live. She’s repped by ICM Partners, Untitled Entertainment and Sloane Offer.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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