Jessica Biel anthology thriller ‘The Sinner’ gets series order at USA Network

Jessica Biel is making her return to TV — and, no, it isn’t for a “7th Heaven” reboot.

USA Network has handed out a series order to “The Sinner,” a new anthology series starring Biel and Bill Pullman (“Independence Day”).

The pickup was announced Tuesday during the cable network’s presentation at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena.

Based on Petra Hammesfahr’s bestselling book of the same name, the first installment of the close-ended crime thriller follows a young mother, played by Biel, who is overcome with a fit of rage and commits an act of violence that she can’t explain. Pullman plays an investigator trying to uncover the motive.

The project propels the network in the growing arena of anthology series — a format competitor FX has found success in with “American Horror Story” and “American Crime Story.” ABC too has experimented in the limited series format with John Ridley’s “American Crime.”

USA Network President Chris McCumber said in a statement announcing the series that “The Sinner’s” “unique perspective intrigued us from the very beginning.”

The pilot was written by executive producer Derek Simonds (“When We Rise”) and was directed by Antonio Campos (“Christine”). They’ll serve as executive producers alongside Biel and her Universal Cable Productions-based Iron Ocean Films banner partner Michelle Purple. Charlie Gogolak (“This Is Us”) also serves as an executive producer.

“The Sinner” serves as Biel’s first turn as a series regular in a TV role since her days playing Mary Camden on the WB-turned-CW family drama “7th Heaven.”

The drama also continues the cable network’s push into darker programming, joining a slate that also includes “Mr. Robot,” “Colony” and “Queen of the South.”

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