Elisabeth Moss, best known for portraying the lead character in The Handmaid’s Tale —for which she won two Emmys— is coming back in an Apple TV Plus crime thriller called Shining Girls, slated for release on April 29.
Based on the best-selling novel by South African author Lauren Beukes, Shining Girls will chronicle the story of Kirby Mazrachi (played by Moss), an aspiring journalist whose ambitions are threatened to go down the drain when she’s assaulted by an unknown individual. Years later, as Kirby struggles to adjust her life to that traumatic experience, a murder with a similar scenario shakes her out of that reverie.
Joining Moss will be Wagner Moura (Elysium, Narcos), Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Snowpiercer), Phillipa Soo (Hamilton), and Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy, The Leftovers), in a web series adaptation created by Silka Luisa and produced by Moss herself and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions.
Here’s the official synopsis for the new series, per Apple TV:
Based on Lauren Beukes’ best-selling novel, Shining Girls follows Kirby Mazrachi (Moss) as a Chicago newspaper archivist whose journalistic ambitions were put on hold after enduring a traumatic assault.Years after a brutal attack left her in a constantly shifting reality, Kirby Mazrachi learns that a recent murder is linked to her assault. She teams with veteran reporter Dan Velazquez (played by Wagner Moura) to understand her ever-changing present—and confront her past.
Going on the premise alone, we can see why the producers decided to bring Moss onboard to portray this character. Mazrachi is definitely another strong female lead that the actress will add to her portfolio of potent performances, and we can’t wait to see it unfold on the small screen when the series premieres this April.