Taylor Schilling has been tapped as the lead of NBC‘s crime drama procedural pilot What The Dead Know, from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Written by Beth Rinehart (FBI: Most Wanted), the project is based on former New York City medical examiner Barbara Butcher’s memoir What the Dead Know.
What the Dead Know centers on highly intelligent, hypervigilant death Investigator Ava Ledger (Schilling) who is really good with dead bodies. It’s the living that give her trouble. The series follows Ava as she teams with the NYPD to solve their toughest cases.
Rinehart executive produces with Wolf Entertainment’s Dick Wolf, Tom Thayer, Peter Jankowski and Anastasia Puglisi. Kevin Plunkett, Rebecca McGill and Butcher co-executive produce.
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Schilling, best known for her Emmy-nominated role on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, recently did an arc on Season 2 of Rian Johnson’s anthological Peacock series Poker Face. She also starred in an episode of Howard Gordon’s Fox anthology series Accused.
Additionally, Schilling starred in Jason Katims’ Apple TV series Dear Edward opposite Connie Britton, and in the independent film Queen of Bones opposite Martin Freeman, Julia Butters, and Jacob Tremblay. She is repped by Gersh, Untitled, and Goodman, Genow.