Hayley Atwell has booked the lead role in an upcoming ABC pilot called Conviction, playing a character named — yep — Carter.
In Conviction, Atwell will play a former First Daughter forced into an unlikely leadership position at the (fictional) Conviction Integrity Unity in Los Angeles. Her character, Carter Morrison, will work alongside legal and scientific teams to research and overturn wrongful convictions — a hot subject in today’s legal climate.
In addition to Atwell, Conviction will have further Marvel DNA from its co-creator Liz Friedman, who worked on Jessica Jones. The Following‘s Liz Friedlander is also serving as co-creator.
Hayley Atwell is best known for (and by now somewhat synonymous with) her role as Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Atwell has portrayed the character in four Marvel films, and leads her own ABC series Agent Carter in the same capacity. Now halfway through its second season, Agent Carter is popular among fans and critics, but is decidedly unsuccessful in the ratings. (The past two episodes have achieved only a 0.8 in the 18-49 demographic.)
According to Deadline, ABC has not yet decided to bury Agent Carter after its second season. The network may be considering options that would allow Atwell to star in both shows, such as limiting Conviction‘s and Agent Carter‘s potential episode orders.
However, given that even Agent Carter season 2 was something of a boon, it seems more likely that the series will not be renewed for a third season. Should that be the case, at least fans will have the option to follow Hayley Atwell to her newest endeavor.
Agent Carter airs on Tuesday nights at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.