Megan Boone scored her first major television role since leaving NBC’s The Blacklist. She will star in an episode of Fox’s upcoming anthology drama series Accused. The episode will be directed by Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin and written by novelist Maile Meloy.
The episode will star three Deaf actors, Stephanie Nogueras, Joshua Castille, and Lauren Ridloff (Eternals), reports Deadline. Nogueras has the lead role of Ava, a Deaf woman who is a surrogate for a couple played by Boone and Aaron Ashmore (Smallville). Ava commits a crime of “advocacy and protection.” Castille plays Ava’s boyfriend KJ, who is hard of hearing. Jean-Michele Le Gal (Take This Waltz) and Ridloff play Ava’s public defenders. Daphne Rubin-Vega (In The Heights) stars as Ava’s mother.
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“I was so moved when [Troy Kotsur] won his well-deserved Oscar for [CODA] and his costar [Matlin], the first Deaf performer to win an Oscar, cheered him on… the entire audience signed the applause! Oh! Yes! I was FEELING IT,” Boone wrote on Instagram last week. “I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity to be involved in the swell of progress that’s expanding opportunities for Deaf actors, but ALSO to work with Marlee Matlin, who is yet another first in this work, the first Deaf woman to direct an episode of television. This cast is STELLAR and kind. WATCH IT when it comes out. I’ll hop on here and remind you.”
Accused was developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa (Homeland) with David Shore (The Good Doctor) and was inspired by the BBC’s award-winning crime anthology. Each episode begins in the courtroom, with audiences only learning about the crime through flashbacks. The stories are also told from the point of view of the defendant. The series aims to show how one wrong decision can lead to anyone finding themselves in an extraordinary situation. Fox Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television are the studios. Jimmy McGovern created the original U.K. series.
The episode will serve as Boone’s first major part since she left The Blacklist. She played Liz Keen, a central character on the show opposite James Spader’s Red Reddington. Boone left after eight seasons. Surprisingly, The Blacklist has continued to move on without her as Season 10 will debut during the 2022-2023 TV season.
Outside of The Blacklist, Boone had a recurring role on the short-lived Law & Order: Los Angeles and starred in two episodes of Blue Bloods. In 2021, she starred in an episode of Barry Jenkins’ critically acclaimed The Underground Railroad, the limited series adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel.
Matlin is making her directing debut with Accused. She is best known for her work in front of the camera, winning an Oscar for Children of a Lesser God (1986). Matlin recently starred in the Best Picture Oscar-winner CODA and had major roles in Quantico, The Magicians, and Switched at Birth. Accused was ordered straight to series for the 2022-2023 TV season, but Fox hasn’t set a premiere date yet.
