Renée Zellweger to Star in TV Drama About World War II’s WASPs

Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger will produce and star in a one-hour dramatic series called "Avenger Field" for the streaming service Peacock. The show will tell the story of the all-female WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) unit started by the Army Air Force during World War II.

Like the movie "Hidden Figures," which revealed the sparsely told story of women's role in the NASA space program, "Avenger Field" aims to shine a light on the role that female pilots played in the battle against Axis powers.

Zellweger is set to play Jackie Cochran, one of the most prominent female pilots of the 1930s. Cochran flew for Britain in the early days of the war and spearheaded the creation of the WASP program in 1943.

The show will be written and produced by Felicia D. Henderson, who brings an impressively diverse resumé to the project. She's worked on the extremely violent Marvel series "The Punisher," the young adult mystery show "Gossip Girl," the music biz soap "Empire" and a number of sitcoms, including "Everybody Hates Chris," "Moesha," "Soul Food" and "Sister, Sister."

"Avenger Field" will be directed by Susanna White, who previously helmed four episodes of HBO's Iraq War series, "Generation Kill." She's also directed the excellent espionage film "Our Kind of Traitor," based on a novel by John Le Carré, and episodes of the series "Boardwalk Empire," "Billions" and "The Deuce."

Zellweger is currently starring in the NBC limited series "The Thing About Pam," which tells the story of a surprising real-life killer. She won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Judy Garland in "Judy" (2019) and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the Civil War drama "Cold Mountain" (2003). She also starred in the Best Picture winner "Chicago" (2002), Jerry Maguire (1996) and the Bridget Jones movie series.

Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment

Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to the Military.com newsletter to have military news, updates and resources delivered straight to your inbox.