Indira Varma will star in ABC pilot about TV news

ABC's pilot "Inside the Box" has cast its lead role, tapping British actress Indira Varma for the Washington-set drama.

Varma will play a hard-working producer at a network news bureau in the show, which comes from "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes and writer Richard E. Robbins, a former ABC News producer. It's her third series regular role on American TV, following HBO's "Rome" and CBS' short-lived "3 Lbs."

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Varma's character, Catherine, is "fast-talking, whip-smart and wound a little too tight" (we're thinking Holly Hunter in "Broadcast News"). In the pilot, she will get passed over for a promotion she believes she deserves.

The show's cast also includes Jason George ("Eli Stone"), Kim Raver ("Lipstick Jungle"), Lloyd Owen ("Viva Laughlin"), Martin Henderson ("The Ring"), Sarah Drew ("Everwood") and Jennifer Finnigan ("Close to Home"). "Grey's" and "Private Practice" veteran Mark Tinker has signed on to direct the pilot.

Varma's other TV credits include guest roles on "Torchwood" and the London episode of "Bones" earlier this season, as well as the CBS miniseries "Comanche Moon." She also co-starred in "Basic Instinct 2."