Lena Headey is headed back to TV: Deadline reports that the actress, best known for her role as Game of Thrones‘ Cersei Lannister (pictured above), will star in Beacon 23, a series based on Hugh Howey’s book about a space lighthouse at the end of the universe.
Created by Zak Penn (Alphas), Beacon 23 is described as a “suspenseful thriller” in which Headey’s character, Aster, finds her way to a space lighthouse where the keeper is not sure what to make of her. The book on which the show is based was originally a series of Kindle Singles, later published in a single volume. Here’s the summary, which is much more focused on setting than character:
For centuries, men and women have manned lighthouses to ensure the safe passage of ships. It is a lonely job, and a thankless one for the most part. Until something goes wrong. Until a ship is in distress. In the twenty-third century, this job has moved into outer space. A network of beacons allows ships to travel across the Milky Way at many times the speed of light.
These beacons are built to be robust. They never break down. They never fail.
At least, they aren’t supposed to.
Post-Game of Thrones, Headey has provided voices for several shows, including The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and she co-stars in the upcoming Gunpowder Milkshake, a female-led action movie with an excellent trailer. In the late 2000s, she starred on The Sarah Connor Chronicles, an underrated take on the Terminator franchise that ended too soon.
Showrunner Penn has done a lot of superhero work, with story credits on films like X2 and The Avengers and co-writer credits on X-Men: The Last Stand, Elektra, and others. He co-created Alphas, a show about people with supernatural abilities that ran for two seasons on Syfy.
Beacon 23 is a join production between Spectrum Originals and AMC Networks; it will first air exclusively on Spectrum before shifting to AMC. There’s no release date for either platform yet.
