Viola Davis to star in and executive produce new series, ‘Ascent’

Viola Davis attends the 32nd Annual Actor Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on March 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

Viola Davis is returning to TV.

The EGOT-winning actress will star in a new Paramount+ thriller series from acclaimed writer John Logan called Ascent. She’ll play a corporate fixer who must use her skills to save her estranged daughter.

“I am overwhelmingly excited about this journey with the great John Logan,” Davis says in a statement. “We won the lottery with this one! Work in which both story and character are bold, awe inspiring and deeply unique is why I became an artist.”

Davis will also be executive producing the project with her husband, Julius Tennon, for their JuVee Productions.

This will be Davis’ second lead series role, following her Emmy-winning role in How to Get Away with Murder.

Ascent is set to begin production in Los Angeles in 2027.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Download the WEIS Radio app in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our text alerts here.