Don’t let the headline fool you, I dig Laura Linney.  Few are the actresses who could have emerged from the delightfully bad Congo to grab a few Oscar nominations for herself in films such as Kinsey and You Can Count on Me.  She also has that rare blend of looks and acting chops.  Unfortunately, she’s just gotten cancer.  Fortunately for her though, it’s for a new Showtime pilot titled, The C-Word, according to Variety.

Linney has signed on to star and executive produce the dark comedy along with Darlene Hunt, who wrote and created the show.  “Laura Linney is in that rare echelon of truly gifted actresses who
fully embody the characters they play and we are honored to welcome her
to Showtime,” said Robert Greenblatt,
the cabler’s entertainment topper. “Cancer is not usually the subject
of a half-hour comedy, but Laura saw what we did in this complex show
— a woman who gets a wake-up call that causes her to shake up her life
and family. She will no doubt make this character both heartbreaking
and disarmingly funny.”

Linney also has the films The Other Man and Sympathy for Delicious upcoming.  Production is set to start on The C-Word in the fall sometime.  No word on whether it will be matched up with Showtime’s The L Word for some sort of alphabet programming block or not.