Ryan Phillipe got his start playing the first gay American soap opera character on One Life To Live, before transitioning to movie roles in Cruel Intentions, Gosford Park, and Crash. Now he’s returning to television for his first regular role since the final season of Damages. Based on an upcoming Australian mystery series (and not Mike Leigh’s 1996 British drama), ABC’s Secrets & Lies centers on Phillippe’s character, a family man who becomes the main suspect in a murder investigation after he finds a young boy’s body. Charles McDougall, who's helmed episodes of House Of Cards and The Good Wife, will direct the pilot.
Secrets & Lies fits with the growing trend of murder-mystery shows, as networks seek to capitalize on the success of darker cable series. Phillippe had recently taken a detour into more lighthearted fare with stuff like MacGruber, The Eric Andre Show, and even appearing on WWE Monday Night RAW, but this should place him back in the more brooding, dramatic roles that make up most of his filmography.