Marcia Cross To Co-Star in JANE THE NOVELA

Marcia Cross is set to star opposite Jacqueline Grace LOPEZ in Jane the Novela, the CW's Jane the Virgin spinoff pilot, according to Deadline.

The telenovela anthology series project is written by Valentina Garza and directed by Brad Silberling. It hails from Jane the Virgin creator/executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman, star Gina Rodriguez, executive producers Ben Silverman and Silberling, as well as studio CBS TV Studios.

Jane the Novela is envisioned as a soapy, telenovela-inspired anthology series in the tradition of Jane the Virgin, where each season is based on a different fictional novel "written by" Jane Villanueva and narrated by the author herself.

The first installment takes place at a Napa Valley vineyard, where family SECRETS (and family members) don't stay buried for long. It centers on Estela (Lopez), an up-and-coming art curator who has spent years playing it safe and coloring within the lines. But a shocking secret changes everything and forces her to live a double life.

Being "in the tradition of Jane the Virgin," Jane the Novela mirrors the setup of the original series. It too follows a driven, imaginative twentysomething Latina woman (Lopez) who is torn between her boyfriend, Luen, and Felix, a handsome, rich guy. Felix co-owns a winery with his manipulative and glamorous mother Renata (Cross), who will stop at nothing to secure her son's legacy, even if it means standing in the way of his happiness.

Cross is best known for her Emmy nominated role as Bree Van de Kamp on ABC's Desperate Housewives. She previously starred on Melrose Place and she most recently recurred on ABC's thriller series Quantico as well as on Youtube Red series Youth & Consequences.

Read the original article on Deadline.