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Jessica Chastain to play Tammy Wynette

Jessica Chastain will portray Tammy Wynette in a new TV series.

The ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ actress will play the late country music legend – who died in 1998 aged 55 – in ‘George & Tammy’, which will explore the singer’s relationship with George Jones, who she married in 1969 but split from in 1975.

The series has been created by Abe Sylvia and will be based on a book written by the couple’s daughter, Georgette Jones, with Jessica, Josh Brolin and ‘American Sniper’s Andrew Lazar serving as executive producers along with the showrunner, Deadline reports.

Abe said in a statement: "I am humbled to bring this incredible story to life with the breadth it deserves and that the Charter platforms allow.

"Tammy Wynette is an American icon, and I can think of no one better to illuminate the woman behind the legend than Jessica Chastain.

"After having the honour of penning ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ for Freckle Films and Searchlight, I so look forward to another collaboration with her.

"This has indeed been a passion project for Andrew, Josh and me – and we are so grateful to our partners Katherine Pope, Keith Cox and David Glasser for tirelessly championing our labour of love."

‘George & Tammy’ will premiere first on Spectrum Originals and nine months later, it will air on both ViacomCBS’ upcoming streaming service and Paramount Network.

Katherine Pope of Spectrum Originals admitted she’d fallen in love with the project "a few years ago" and is excited to see it on screen.

She said: "I first read Abe’s feature script a few years ago and couldn’t get it out of my head — the examination of human frailty and redemption was so unexpected, given the glitz and glamour of the subject matter.

"We all thought we knew who Tammy Wynette was, but there is so much more to her that we never saw. Jessica brings her incredible depth of intelligence, empathy and strength to peel back all the layers of this country superstar.

"It’s an honour to work with this dream team — all the producers and our partners at 101 Studios and Paramount Network — we can’t wait to bring this incredible series to our viewers."