Actress Ann Friel is hoping to head back to American television. The darling Pushing Daisies actress has signed on to co-star in Showtime’s Vatican pilot as the sister of a Cardinal in the Catholic Church. While the role sounds a bit different than her returned from the dead Pushing Daisies character, she seems like a good fit for the fast-paced thriller set within the walls of the modern-day Catholic Church.
In Vatican, Friel will play Kayla Duffy. If that last name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Kayla is the younger sister of Cardinal Thomas Duffy, a pretty important clergy member in the church. According to Deadline, Kayla won’t have much in common with her brother. She’s described as someone who lives life in the fast lane in New York City. The outlet is also noting that Friel’s been in pretty high demand since Pushing Daisies ended its run, but that this is the first big pilot she’s committed to. If anything, that speaks pretty highly about Vatican’s chances of moving forward at the subscription cable network.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with Paul Attansio’s Vatican pilot when I first learned about its premise. The sort-of kooky idea of setting up a battle of power and wills within the modern-day Catholic Church seemed a little weird and maybe even a little boring (maybe this is due to all those Masses I slept through as a kid). However, soon after, Ridley Scott signed on to direct the pilot. After that, Friday Night Lights’ Kyle Chandler, who has been on a mission to find the right project, signed on to Vatican. There are some really top-notch actors involved with the Vatican pilot and a top-notch crew behind the pilot. Now, I’m hoping that even if the premise is a little strange, Vatican gets the chance to air on the network.
