Gone Girl's Kim Dickens Lands Female Lead in 'Walking Dead' Companion Series

Gone Girl star Kim Dickens has landed the leading role in the new The Walking Dead companion series at AMC.

The 49-year-old actress will star opposite Cliff Curtis in the Robert Kirkman-created show. Deadline reports that numerous actresses were screen tested in a rigorous casting process before Kim landed the role.

The spinoff takes place at the same time as the current The Walking Dead, but in a different location. It follows a teacher (Curtis) and a guidance counselor (Dickens), who are working together and are in a relationship. The counselor has two children, played by Frank Dillane and Alycia Debnam Carey, and has a troubled past that will come back to haunt her.

Kim played the pivotal role of Detective Rhonda Boney, who was the lead detective in the film investigating Ben Affleck, in Gone Girl.