Tatiana Maslany has been cast as a lead in Orphan Black, the sci-fi series from Temple Street Productions for Space and BBC America.

Maslany is to play Sarah, an outsider, orphan, and street-wise chameleon who has a murky past and tenuous future after she witnesses a woman’s suicide.

“We are extremely excited about Orphan Black, and as soon as we saw Tatiana perform, we knew she would be perfect,” Corrie Coe, senior VP, independent production, at Bell Media, said of Maslany getting the TV role.

The Canadian actress is best known for her movie roles, including Grown Up Movie Star, The Vow and more recently Picture Day and Cas & Dylan.

On the TV side, Maslany appeared in Being Erica and The Nativity, both for Temple Street Productions.

Orphan Black is executive produced by Ivan Schneeberg, David Fortier, Graeme Manson and John Fawcett.

The series is co-created by Manson and Fawcett, with Manson also serving as writer and Fawcett as director.

BBC Worldwide is distributing the series internationally.