Viola Davis will star and executive produce “Ascent,” a new thriller coming to Paramount+. The series is created by John Logan, who is known for his work on “Skyfall,” “Gladiator,” “Michael” and “Penny Dreadful.”
David will star as Catriona Vail, an elite corporate fixer who has to use her talents that made her indispensable to billion dollar clients when her estranged daughter is in trouble. Production is planned to begin in Los Angeles in 2027.
Logan will serve as showrunner and executive producer alongside executive producers Michael Aguilar and Davis and Julius Tennon for JuVee Productions.
The show returns the EGOT-winning Davis to television in a series regular role for the first time since her ABC drama series “How to Get Away With Murder” ended in 2020. Since that time, Davis flexed her action muscles on the big screen in 2022’s “The Woman King” and starred in 2023’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” She next stars in the Paramount fantasy actioner “Children of Blood and Bone,” which is in theaters later this year.
Logan is no stranger to television having created “Penny Dreadful” and its sequel series “City of Angels” before becoming one of the most in-demand screenwriters in Hollywood, particularly on the Daniel Craig James Bond films. He most recently wrote the box office smash biopic “Michael.”
“I am overwhelmingly excited about this journey with the great John Logan,” said Davis in a statement. “We won the lottery with this one! Work in which both story and character are bold, awe inspiring and deeply unique is why I became an artist. We at JuVee are deeply grateful to John Logan, Michael Aquilar, and Paramount. We are ready to create magic!”
“Viola Davis doesn’t just take on roles; she transforms them. Catriona Vail is an incredibly complex character and Viola is exactly the generational talent to bring her to life,” said Jane Wiseman, Head of Originals for Paramount+. “With John Logan and Michael Aguilar behind the camera, Ascent is high-stakes television at its best.”
“We are honored to support the vision of our exceptional creative partners: John Logan, Michael Aguilar, and Viola Davis,” said Matt Thunell, President Paramount Television Studios. “We celebrate bold, original ideas, and the icing on the cake is being able to shoot Ascent here at home on the Paramount Lot in Los Angeles.”
The news of “Ascent” comes on the heels of other new Paramount+ series announcements like the “Clueless” sequel event series with Alicia Silverstone returning as Cher Horowitz, “Laird” starring Kenneth Branagh, and “9/12” starring Jeremy Strong, both from Paramount Television Studios.
The streamer also has “Fear Not” starring Anne Hathaway and “Discretion” starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning upcoming, and recently renewed the Taylor Sheridan “Yellowstone” spinoffs “Dutton Ranch” and “The Madison” for additional seasons.
