Game of Thrones' Lena Headey returns to TV, heads to deep space with sci-fi series 'Beacon 23'

Two years after ending her run with the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones, Lena Headey is heading back to television for another ambitious project, but this time she's headed for pure sci-fi territory. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Headey is set to star in Beacon 23, a new series from Spectrum Originals and AMC Networks that combines the tension of a thriller with the sci-fi hook of life on the edges of space. 

Created by Zak Penn (Ready Player One) and adapted from Hugh Howey's 2015 novel of the same name, Beacon 23 follows Aster (Headey), a woman who ends up at a kind of lighthouse in deep space, where she meets the "beacon keeper" who lives there. The beacon keeper, Halan, is of course suspicious of Aster and her arrival, and so begins a "tense battle of wills."

Headey will also serve as an executive producer on the project, which will run for nine months exclusively on Spectrum Originals before expanding to AMC's platforms. Penn has been developing the series for several years, and finally found it a home at Spectrum and AMC late last year. The role of Halan, the other major player in this intimate saga, has not yet been cast. 

“Lena Headey was a wonderful, versatile actress before she gave one of the defining performances in television history," Penn said. "So, as they say, ‘no pressure.’ I’m thankful to all the people making this show possible, they just keep delivering beyond my expectations."

Since Game of Thrones ended, after earning Headey five Primetime Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination, the actress has kept plenty busy. She joined the voice casts of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Wizards: Tales of Arcadia and worked on the upcoming films Twist and Gunpowder Milkshake and Kevin Smith's new Masters of the Universe series. Now, she's returning to live-action TV with a role that sounds like a major showcase for her sci-fi talent, something fans who first got to know her through things like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will no doubt enjoy. 

Beacon 23 does not yet have a release date.