Jordana Spiro Signs Up For New FX Pilot Tyrant

Jordana Spiro has had some small screen success over the years with My Boys and The Mob Doctor – less so with the latter – but perhaps a change of scenery will help with that. Spiro, who has previously stuck mostly to shows filming in the Chicago-area, is headed to Morocco to shoot the pilot for FX’s latest drama, Tyrant.

Tyrant is the brain-child of Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, who created Homeland, and Craig Wright (Six Feet Under). The show will be centered on a typical American family who find themselves amidst the chaos of a Middle Eastern nation.

Spiro won’t be playing a member of the family – Barry, Molly, or one of the kids – but she is on board for a recurring role if the pilot gets a series order. According to THR, her character, Dana, is a cultural attaché at the American Embassy. She works with her husband, John Tucker (which if you’ve seen the movie John Tucker Must Die should give you a chuckle), who will be played by Justin Kirk.

John Landgraf, FX CEO, told reporters back in March that the network had already assembled a writing team for the project, and David Yates is attached to direct the pilot.

It looks like Spiro is pretty excited about the opportunity. Although she rarely takes to her official Twitter account – the last time being the day she wrapped on The Mob Doctor – she Tweeted this afternoon to her fans the following statement:

2 things on my mind today: going to Morocco for FX’s new show “Tyrant” and Daniel Danger’s prints.

I’ve always thought Jordana Spiro was an underrated talent, and can’t wait to see what she’ll bring to the table. FX has a history of delivering solid drama to audiences, so hopefully Tyrant will be more of the same.