Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross joins Jane the Virgin spin-off

The Jane the Virgin spin-off is starting to come together.

Jane the Novela, which has been given a pilot order at the CW, is a spin-off of the beloved series Jane the Virgin, which will premiere its fifth and final season March 27. And EW has confirmed that Marcia Cross, best known for playing Bree on Desperate Housewives, has been cast in a leading role. She’ll play Renata, Felix’s manipulative and glamorous mother, who will stop at nothing to secure her son’s legacy, even if it means standing in the way of his happiness.

The series has been described as a telenovela anthology series in which each season is based on a different fictional novel “written by” Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez) and narrated by the author herself. The first installment takes place at a Napa Valley Vineyard, where family secrets (and family members) don’t stay buried for long. Cross joins relative newcomer Jacqueline Grace Lopez, who stars as Estela, an art curator who discovers a life-changing secret.

Jane the Virgin showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman and Rodriguez are both attached to the spin-off as executive producers.

Deadline Hollywood first reported Cross’ casting.

Related content:

• Jane the Virgin spin-off in the works at the CW
• The CW orders pilots for Jane the Virgin and Riverdale spin-offs
• Gina Rodriguez says Jane the Virgin spin-off pilot is ‘unbelievable’