There has also been a shift behind the camera, as while Polley has written and will produce the six-part miniseries, Mary Harron is aboard to direct. Atwood's 1996 novel is based around the true story of Grace Marks (Gadon) and James McDermott, two servants in the household of one Thomas Kinnear, who were convicted of his murder, and that of his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery (Paquin), in Canada in 1843. Focusing, obviously enough, on Grace, the book is told through the letters of a (fictional) psychologist investigating her claims of amnesia, and through the voice of Grace herself. Not a conventional murder mystery in any sense, Grace's guilt or innocence isn't the point, with Atwood using the case to explore 19th-Century notions of gender and class.
“Anna is an incredibly versatile performer who always makes complex, unpredictable and fascinating choices in her work,” Polley says in a statement accompanying the announcement. “It's always a marvel to watch her and we’re thrilled to have her join the cast.”
Filming has just kicked off in Ontario with the series set to be broadcast on CBC in Canada and carried everywhere else by Netflix.