Deadwood’s Kim Dickens has been cast as the female lead in the prequel companion series to The Walking Dead.

The project, also known as Cobalt, takes place in Los Angeles at the dawn of the zombie apocalypse. Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels, upon which The Walking Dead TV series is based, have never explored the origins of the zombie apocalypse.

Cliff Curtis stars as Sean Cabrera, a teacher who shares a son with his ex-wife, Andrea. The character is described as a good man trying to do right by everyone in his life.

Dickens (Gone Girl, Sons of Anarchy) will play the role of Nancy Tomkins, a guidance counsellor who works with and is dating Sean. Nancy has two kids, but it’s unclear what happened to her husband. She has a troubled past that will come up later in the series.

Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) co-stars as Nancy’s son Nick, who has battled a drug problem, and Alycia Debnam Carey (Into the Woods) is set as Nancy’s ambitious daughter Ashley, who is the polar opposite of Nick and has dreams of leaving L.A. for Berkeley when the apocalypse strikes.