Elisabeth Moss to Play ‘Typhoid Mary’ in BBC America Miniseries Fever

Elisabeth Moss‘ new role is positively infectious.

The Handmaid’s Tale star will play Irish immigrant Mary Mallon, infamously known as “Typhoid Mary,” in a new BBC America miniseries entitled Fever, our sister site Variety is reporting. Moss will executive produce, along with director Phil Morrison (Enlightened) and Mad Men writer Robin Veith, who will pen the adaptation.

Based on Mary Beth Keane’s novel, Fever tells the story of Mallon, the family cook who was the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in 1900s New York. She was villified and labeled “Typhoid Mary” by the tabloids after she unwittingly spread the disease to the wealthy families she cooked for.

Moss is currently starring as Offred in Hulu’s acclaimed adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale. She’ll also reprise her role as detective Robin Griffin in the upcoming Sundance miniseries Top of the Lake: China Girl.

“I look forward to telling this story about one of the most infamous women in America, ‘Typhoid Mary,’ a woman whose true tale has never been told,” Moss said in a statement. “She was incredibly unique, stubborn, ambitious and in fierce denial of any wrongdoing until her death where she lived out her days imprisoned on an island just off of the Bronx in New York. She is incredibly complicated — something I seem to enjoy playing.”