FIRST LOOK: Jane Lynch Transforms Into Janet Reno on Discovery's 'Manhunt: Unabomber'

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Discovery Channel

Move over, Will Ferrell!

While the actor famously impersonated late U.S. Attorney
General Janet Reno in the Saturday Night Live recurring sketch “Janet
Reno's Dance Party,” his portrayal won’t hold up against Manhunt: Unabomber.

On Discovery’s new anthology true-crime series, which
premieres Aug. 1, Jane Lynch takes on the role of President Bill Clinton’s
formidable attorney general. ET has your first look at the actress in character
-- and the similarities between the two are uncanny. 

Much like American Crime Story and Law &
Order: True Crime
, Manhunt tells the gripping true story of a crime
that rocked America. Unabomber specifically focuses on the FBI’s hunt
for Ted Kaczynski (Paul Bettany) following his many acts of domestic terrorism,
specifically bombings at various U.S. colleges and universities. The show will
follow FBI agent and criminal profiler Jim Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington), who
pioneered forensic linguistics, as he dives deep into Kaczynski’s manifesto.
After putting his career on the line in order to capture the Unabomber,
Fitzgerald later comes face to face with Kaczynski when he’s on trial.

Discovery Channel

The 1996 capture and conviction of Kaczynski is one of many
events that occurred during Reno’s tenure at the Department of Justice.
Nominated in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, Reno became the first female U.S. attorney
general and was the second-longest person to serve in the post. Lynch’s
portrayal of Reno comes nearly one year after the lawyer died on Nov. 7, 2016
at 78 years old.

Manhunt: Unabomber was created by Andrew Sodroski
with director Greg Yaitanes serving as showrunner. The eight-episode season’s A-list
cast
also includes Chris Noth as UNABOM Task Force supervisor Don Ackerman,
Keisha Castle-Hughes as Tabby, Mark Duplass as Ted’s younger brother, David, Hamilton’s
Brian d’Arcy James as Harvard professor Henry Murray and Elizabeth Reaser as
Fitzgerald’s wife, Ellie. (Reaser is also set to portray Deputy District
Attorney Pam Bozanich in True Crime’s debut season, The Menendez Murders.)

Watch the first trailer for the series, which includes a brief look Lynch in action as Reno, and check out two more images of the actress below:  

Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel