Jane Lynch to Star as Janet Reno in Unabomber ‘Manifesto’ Series

Discovery adds to its new push on scripted series with Manifesto, an eight-episode series about FBI agent Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald’s dogged and innovative search for Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. the Unabomber, who killed and maimed people involved with modern technology over the course of 17 years, mostly using letter bombs.

Two-time Emmy-Award winner Jane Lynch has been cast as Janet Reno, the U.S. Attorney General at the time of Kaczynski’s arrest. She joins Chris Noth, who plays the Bay Area head of the FBI, Sam Worthington as Jim Fitzgerald and Paul Bettany as Ted Kaczynski. This project will feature the first major leading roles on U.S. television for Worthington and Bettany.

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Greg Yaitanes (Banshee) will executive-produce, direct and serve as showrunner for the series, which starts filming in Atlanta on Jan. 30 for an expected third quarter airing.

A network rep says Manifesto is the opening installment of a planned anthology series.