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HBO has found the first link in The Chain.

Killing Eve star Jodie Comer will play a lead role in the thriller from showrunner Damon Lindelof. Her character, Rachel, is described as a surburban mother “who must consider the unthinkable when her daughter is kidnapped.”

HBO ordered the series in January as the first project to result from a two-year overall deal Lindelof signed with the outlet last year. The Chain is based on a 2019 novel of the same name by Adrian McKinty, which details a kidnapping scheme where an abductee’s parents must kidnap another child to secure their own child’s release. Lindelof is said to be expanding on the mythology of the book.

“From the moment I heard the wild and original premise of Adrian’s book, I was shocked, surprised and angry I hadn’t thought of it myself,” Lindelof said when the series order was announced. “I’ve always wanted to try to adapt a great thriller and this one has all the dark, weird, exhilarating touches that fire up my imagination.”

Comer won an Emmy in 2019 for playing the assassin Villanelle in the first season of BBC America’s Killing Eve. Her recent credits include 28 Years Later, The Bikeriders and The End We Start From; she’ll next be seen in A24’s The Death of Robin Hood opposite Hugh Jackman and Bill Skarsgard. Comer is repped by Independent Talent Group and WME.

Lindelof, Carly Wray and Breannah Gibson share credit on the pilot story for The Chain, with Lindelof and Wray writing the pilot script. Lindelof will be the showrunner and executive produces with Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer Media Res, the co-studio on the series, Shane Salerno, Gibson and Joe Iberti. McKinty is a co-EP.

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