Kiera Knightley To Star in New Apple Series

Actor Kiera Knightley, who needs no introduction and is best known for her oles in several films has now been signed on to star and executive produce a drama series for Apple — her second commitment to a streaming TV project in the past few months.

The tech giant has given a series order to The Essex Serpent, a period drama based on Sarah Perry's British Book Award-winning novel. Anna Symon (Mrs. Wilson) will be the lead writer, and Clio Barnard (Dark River) is set to direct.

The Essex Serpent centers on Cora (Knightley). Having being released from an abusive marriage, she relocates from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex, intrigued by a local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.

The Apple drama is the second streaming project Knightley has signed onto recently. She'll also star in and executive produce a limited series for Hulu based on Suzanne Rindell's novel The Other Typist.