Rhea Perlman, Mary Lynn Rajskub to Guest Star on Fox Crime Anthology ‘Accused’ (Exclusive)

Fox’s upcoming anthology series “Accused” is rounding out its cast. Rhea Perlman, Baron Vaughn, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Sean Kleier will guest star in the episode led by Whitney Cummings.

The episode follows Cummings as Brenda Kramer, an acerbic stand-up comic who is forced to confront public opinion and courtroom biases after she reports being sexually assaulted.

Rajskub, known best for her role in “24,” is playing Tess Richards, who befriends Brenda quickly after her assault and isolates Brenda from her other friends. Her fierce loyalty reveals the damaged psychopath beneath. Vaughn (“Grace and Frankie”) fills the role of Chad Jackson, a regular at Joyce’s club and Brenda’s close friend and fellow struggling comic.

Kleier (“9-1-1”) will guest star as Zeke Thompson, a comic whose career has taken off while his friends still wait for their big break. Perlman (“Cheers”) will play Joyce Golden, a former comic turned comedy club owner who sees benefit for herself in Zeke’s assent and learned in this world to be loyal only to herself.

“Accused” is based on the BBC crime anthology of the same name. The series opens with the accused in a courtroom and tells each story through the defendant’s point of view using flashbacks. According to the logline, the series “holds a mirror up to the current times with evocative and emotional stories.”

“In ‘Accused,’ there’s a fine line and viewers discover how an ordinary person gets caught up in an extraordinary situation, ultimately revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back,” the description reads.

“Accused” hails from Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment. It is developed by Howard Gordon, who also executive produces. Frank Siracusa and John Weber also serve as executive producers. Other executive producers are Alex Gansa, David Shore, Glenn Geller, Erin Gunn, All3Media America’s Jacob Cohen-Holmes, and Jimmy McGovern, Sita Williams, Roxy Spencer and Louise Pedersen for All3Media International.

Created by Jimmy McGovern, the original series debuted in 2010 on BBC One to critical acclaim. It ran for two seasons. In 2013, Olivia Colman won a BAFTA for her performance in the second installment.