Paramount+ has officially greenlit Ascent, a character-driven thriller series created by three-time Academy Award nominee John Logan (Skyfall, Gladiator, Michael), who will also serve as showrunner. The upcoming series will star EGOT winner Viola Davis alongside Outlander star Sam Heughan.
Let’s be honest. Do we even need to know the plot?
The moment you tell us that Viola Davis and Sam Heughan are starring in a series together, you’ve already got our attention. These two could be running a pet grooming business or sitting in a room reading the phonebook, and we’d still be invested. Why? Because when you bring two powerhouses like these together, you know you’re in for something worth watching.
Inside ascent: The plot, Players and Power Struggles
However, for those of you who actually want to know what the series is about (instead of just admiring the casting choices), Ascent takes us into the dangerous world of global corporate crises and damage control.
Davis will portray Catriona, an elite corporate fixer who has built her reputation on being indispensable to billion-dollar clients. But when her estranged daughter finds herself in danger, Catriona must turn the very skills that made her a force to be reckoned with in the corporate world into weapons to protect someone much closer to home.
Heughan, meanwhile, will step into the role of Conal, a top agent at Ascent Ventures. Described as lethally charming and a natural chameleon, Conal is the definition of a smooth operator. Armed with social cunning and a ruthless streak, he’s someone who knows exactly how to navigate a room, manipulate a situation, and use his charm to his advantage.
And let’s be honest, Sam Heughan playing a lethally charming, dangerously calculating character? We can already see the appeal.
Another Power Player Enters the Boardroom: Amy Madigan
As if this cast wasn’t impressive enough, Weapons star and Oscar winner Amy Madigan has also boarded the series. Madigan will portray Rachel, a former executive at Ascent Ventures and lifelong mentor to Davis’s Catriona.
With Madigan now joining Davis and Heughan, Ascent is shaping up to have quite the powerhouse ensemble. And considering the series revolves around corporate power, manipulation, and high-stakes decisions, we can only imagine what happens when these characters find themselves on opposite sides of the boardroom.
Of course, there’s still plenty we don’t know about Ascent, but one thing is certain: Paramount+ certainly knows how to get our attention.
Between the talent in front of the camera and John Logan pulling the strings behind it, this is already looking like a series worth keeping on our radar.
And while we may not know exactly what kind of business Ascent Ventures has in store for us, we’re more than ready to find out.
Consider us officially invested.
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