Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Jen Richards has joined the cast of the Silence of the Lambs sequel series Clarice.
Variety reported Monday that Richards, an actress and transgender activist, has joined the CBS drama as a consultant and will also appear on the show.
Richards will play a character who intersects with Clarice Starling (Rebecca Breeds) and discusses the "complicated legacy" of Buffalo Bill, a serial killer portrayed by Ted Levine in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
"All I can say is that the character intersects with Clarice's storyline in a way that her transness isn't central to her storyline, but her identity as a trans woman prompts her to discuss with Clarice the complicated legacy of Buffalo Bill," Richards said.
Richards addressed how the character of Buffalo Bill, whom she described as an "incredibly monstrous person who literally steals the female form and tries to embody it," has been a negative representation of the trans community.
The actress said she was thrilled to learn that the Clarice writing team wanted to "address the complicated, horrible legacy in a way that didn't reduce it to that one issue."
Richards confirmed her casting in an Instagram post Monday.
"Here we go! The creators of Clarice, the Silence of the Lambs spinoff that follows Agent Starling in the years after the events of the movie, knew that the character of Buffalo Bill created untold pain for trans people," the star wrote. "Too often victims in real life, we were only ever shown as monsters."
"The team wanted to put to that right, especially after seeing @disclosuredoc, and worked with Nick Adams at @glaad to make sure trans people, both on and off camera, helped shape a more authentic and empathetic story. I'm proud to be part of this new take," she said.
CBS released a trailer for Clarice in January. The series co-stars Devyn A. Tyler, Lucca De Oliveira, Kal Penn and Nick Sandow and premieres Feb. 11 on CBS and CBS All Access.
