Laura Linney has signed to star in the HBO miniseries, John Adams for Tom Hanks' Playtone.

She'll star opposite Paul Giamatti for director Tom Hooper. Variety notes the show is based on the David McCullough bestseller in which Linney will play Adams' wife, Abigail, and her letters to her husband, John (Giamatti). He'll be portrayed in his earlier years as a Massachusetts lawyer working behind the scenes to mobilize the revolt of the colonies.

Kirk Ellis wrote the miniseries, which begins shooting next month in Virginia. HBO will air the first of the seven hour-long shows of John Adams in March.