The end of ‘Outlander’ doesn’t seem to have slowed Sam Heughan (‘The Couple Next Door’) down. The Scottish actor has landed another major TV role, joining Viola Davis (‘How to Get Away with Murder’) in ‘Ascent‘, a new thriller for Paramount+ that takes us into the decidedly murky world of corporate crisis management. Apparently, making other people’s disasters disappear can be a very lucrative career choice.
Heughan will play Conal, one of the top agents at Ascent Ventures, a company operating in the high-stakes business of keeping corporate catastrophes under control. Paramount describes him this way: “A lethally charming and natural chameleon, Conal uses social cunning and ruthlessness to get the job done, and he always gets a thrill out of completing a mission.”
In other words, probably not someone you’d want handling your complaint about a missing parcel. Although he’d almost certainly get results.
The thriller centres on Catriona Vail, played by Davis, an elite corporate fixer who has built a formidable career dealing with problems for billion-dollar clients. Her skills have made her indispensable to some extremely powerful people, but things become rather more personal when her estranged daughter finds herself in danger.
Suddenly, all those tricks she’s used to protect wealthy businesses need to be turned towards protecting her own family. And given the sort of people she’s been working for, it’s probably safe to assume this isn’t a problem that can be solved with a carefully worded press statement.
Exactly how Conal fits into Catriona’s story hasn’t been revealed yet. He could be a valuable ally, a dangerous obstacle, or potentially a bit of both. With a character described as charming, ruthless and someone who actively enjoys completing missions, there’s certainly room for some interesting complications.
The series was originally announced in August with Davis attached to star and executive produce. She’s one of the relatively small group of performers to have achieved EGOT status, having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, and brings a considerable amount of dramatic firepower to the project.
Behind the scenes, ‘Ascent’ has another particularly interesting name: John Logan, the writer of Skyfall and Gladiator, and creator of ‘Penny Dreadful’. Logan has created the series and will serve as showrunner and executive producer, which should be encouraging news for anyone who likes their thrillers populated by complicated people making questionable decisions.
Michael Aguilar, who previously worked on ‘Penny Dreadful: City of Angels’ and ‘Kidding’, also executive produces, alongside Davis and Julius Tennon through their JuVee Productions banner. Paramount Television Studios is producing the drama.
For Heughan, the casting adds to a growing list of projects following his long run as Jamie Fraser in ‘Outlander’, which concluded its eighth and final season earlier this year. He’s also due to appear in ‘Embassy’, a political action thriller alongside Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) and J.K. Simmons (Whiplash). Between corporate fixers and international diplomacy gone horribly wrong, he certainly seems to be keeping himself busy in the thriller department.
Production on ‘Ascent’ is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles in 2027, so there’s still a bit of a wait before we get to see Heughan and Davis sharing the screen. Paramount+ has confirmed the series will premiere globally, meaning UK viewers will get it on the same streaming service as the US, although no release date has been announced.
‘Ascent‘ Season 1 will premiere on Paramount+ in the UK and US, with a date still to be confirmed.
If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date. Visit Never Miss.
Login to Geektown