Lucy Liu Lands First Post-'Elementary' Role on CBS All Access' 'Why Women Kill'

Elementary star Lucy Liu quickly found her next role, and is staying in the CBS fold. The Charlie's Angels actress will star in CBS All Access' upcoming Why Women Kill, CBS said Monday.

The new show centers in Simone, a character described as "the picture of urbane confidence, moving through the world as if it were a delightful movie starring herself." She believes she is superior to everyone else, and thrives on spending money and throwing lavish parties. To outsiders, she appears happily married to her husband Karl, but she is experiencing doubts. Her world is shattered when she learns Karl was cheating on her. The role of Karl has yet to be cast.

Why Women Kill was created by Desperate Housewives mastermind Marc Cherry and is set in three different time periods. One character is a 1960s housewife, another is a 1980s socialite and the last is a 2018 lawyer. The series examines how each woman handles learning about infidelities in their marriages.

Cherry is an executive producer on the show, along with Imagine's Brian Glazer and Francie Calfo, and Michael Hanel and Mincy Schultheis of Acme Productions. Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) will direct the pilot and is an executive producer.

The show will exclusively be available on CBS' streaming platform later this year.

Liu previously worked with CBS as Joan Watson opposite Jonny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes on Elementary. Back in December, CBS announced the show would come to an end after its upcoming seventh season and finish with 154 episodes.

"A lot of parties came together and talked about their positions on the show — both in terms of business and in terms of creative — and we all decided that this was an opportune time to say goodbye to a show that has been very, very good to us," CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl said in a statement.

"[Creator Rob Doherty] set out to tell a story, and it feels like he has accomplished what he had set out to do," executive producer Carl Beverly told Deadline. "The actors, the crew and the cast feel that way, and we feel that. So are grateful and celebrating what we had and looking forward to the future."

While on Elementary, Liu directed six episodes. She also helmed an episode of Marvel's Luke Cage last year.

Liu is an Emmy nominee for playing Ling Woo on Ally McBeal. Her other credits include the Charlie's Angels movie, Kill Bill: Vol. I, Difficult People, Southland and Dirty Sexy Money. She recently starred in Netflix's Set It Up with Taye Diggs, Zoery Deutch and Glenn Powell.

The seventh season of Elementary will debut later this year on CBS.

Photo credit: Justin Stephens/CBS