Doctor Who's Jenna Coleman is racking up roles these days, currently starring in the hit period drama Victoria, and has just confirmed the lead role in the forthcoming TV series, The Cry, reports BBC News.

She's set to star opposite Ewen Leslie (Top of the Lake: China Girl) in the four-part psychological thriller. The two portray distraught parents, whose newborn baby goes missing. Set in a small coastal town in Australia, the young couple are overwhelmed by the tragedy, which takes an expected toll on their marriage, and them as people.

Helen Fitzgerald's 2013 novel by the same name is being adapted for screen by TV veteran Jacquelin Perske (Seven Types of Ambiguity, Spirited).

Coleman talks about her initial reactions to the project, saying, "I first read Jacquelin Perske's script on a plane, it felt like walking a tightrope, racing page to page, unsettling, unknowable, uncomfortable, and thrilling."

Coleman's co-star, Leslie, also chimes in, expressing his excitement about being cast: "From Helen FitzGerald’s addictive and exciting novel, to Jacquelin Perske’s beautifully written scripts, I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of the amazing team that has been formed to bring these complicated characters and thrilling story to the screen."

We're all very familiar with Coleman, but if Leslie is new to you, here's a look at him starring as Pyke in Top of the Lake China Girl (0:49):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ebH6h7zLqI

Here's the brief synopsis from the book jacket:

"When a baby goes missing on a lonely roadside in Australia, it sets off a police investigation that will become a media sensation and dinner-table talk across the world. Lies, rumors and guilt snowball, causing the parents, Joanna and Alistair, to slowly turn against each other. Finally Joanna starts thinking the unthinkable: could the truth be even more terrible than she suspected?"

And, cover:

[caption id="attachment_418829" align="alignnone" width="317"] (Photo: Faber & Faber)[/caption]

U.K. viewers can look for The Cry on BBC1. There's no word on the limited series heading stateside just yet, but... fingers crossed!

Have you already read the novel? ... if not, are you now tempted!