Jane Lynch has been cast as former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno in the Discovery Channel Unabomber miniseries “Manifesto,” the network announced on Thursday.
The series will tell the story of how FBI agent Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington) deployed a radical approach to intelligence gathering to take down Ted Kaczynski (Paul Bettany), also known as the Unabomber, one of the most infamous criminals in the world.
At 57 years old, Reno was the first woman to serve as Attorney General. Every major case in the country came across her desk, and there was no bigger one than the hunt for the Unabomber.
Emmy Award-winning television producer and director Greg Yaitanes will executive produce, direct and serve as showrunner. Andrew Sodroski, who topped Hollywood’s famed Black List for screenplays in 2013 with “Holland, Michigan,” created the series and serves as an executive producer. Fitzgerald will serve as consulting producer.
It is produced by John Goldwyn, serving as consultant to Discovery, Lionsgate, Trigger Street Productions and Discovery Channel.
Lynch is the two-time Emmy Award-winning host of NBC’s “Hollywood Game Night.” She was raised near Chicago and came up through The Second City and Steppenwolf Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the 2013 production of “Annie” and soon embarked on her own live concert tour, “See Jane Sing.”
Lynch is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner for her portrayal of Sue Sylvester on “Glee.” Additional television credits include “Party Down,” “Lovespring International,” “Two and a Half Men” and “The L Word.” Her film credits include the recent Christopher Guest movie “Mascots”, “The Three Stooges,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Julie & Julia,” “A Mighty Wind” and “Best in Show.”