Michelle Dockery Role Revealed: ‘Downton Abbey’ Stars Gets New Gig

Fans are disappointed that this next season of Downton Abbey will be the show’s last, but now there’s news regarding Michelle Dockery’s role in a new series. From the sounds of things, this new gig will be a significant departure from what Dockery has done in the role of Lady Mary Crawley. What’s the scoop?

The Hollywood Reporter shares that Michelle Dockery’s role is in the new TNT show, Good Behavior. The series is based on the Blake Crouch books, revolving around character Letty Dobesh. Dockery stars as the central character, Dobesh, a con artist and thief.

Crouch describes Dobesh as “a gorgeous, degenerate thief” who is “hardly a heroine.” She’s been caught and tossed into prison more than once, but it seems she always reverts to her old ways once she’s free again. She has tried before to stay on the right side of the law, but she has a tendency to be pulled back to the criminal side and walk the line of throwing it all away.

In Good Behavior, viewers will see Letty fresh out of prison once again, and she’s trying to keep her head above water. Teasers indicate that she’ll overhear a plan that involves a hitman targeting a man’s wife, and she throws herself into the middle of things, trying to throw off the hitman’s plan. This leads to a dangerous dance with the hitman and a racy, problematic relationship.

Though this will be Michelle Dockery’s first role on television again after wrapping Downton Abbey, she does have another project in the works for the stage. Dockery will be doing the London production of Dangerous Liaisons, as well, where she’s playing the role of Madame de Tourvel. As Digital Spy notes, she’ll star alongside Dominic West this fall on the stage project.

Variety notes that Wayward Pines creator Chad Hodge has put together Good Behavior. This marks the second project that Hodge and Crouch have done together, as Crouch wrote the Wayward Pines trilogy as well. The two wrote the pilot for the new show together, and will serve as executive producers together, as well.

So far, the rest of the cast, including the mysterious hitman, has not yet been announced, from the looks of things. While Dockery has been fabulous in the role of Lady Mary Crawley on Downton Abbey for six seasons, many can imagine that Michelle Dockery’s role on Good Behavior will be an exciting change of pace. No premiere date for the new show has been revealed as of yet.

[Photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images]