Catherine Zeta-Jones has joined Disney Branded Television's TV series National Treasure, produced by ABC Signature, as a co-lead opposite Lisette Alexis.

The project, which is executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, director Jon Turteltaub, and writers Marianne and Cormac Wibberley, is an expansion of the National Treasure film franchise told from the perspective of young heroine Jess (Alexis), a DREAMer in search of answers about her family, who embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.

Billie, a tough millionaire, black-market antiquities specialist, and treasure hunter who lives by her own code, will be played by Oscar winner Zeta-Jones. She went from being a poor orphan to a savvy, fashionable entrepreneur and traveler. Billie is used to obtaining what she wants, and the Pan-American treasure is no exception. But it's not only for the cash. For her, the stakes are higher with this prize.

Zeta-Jones joins other series regulars Lyndon Smith, Zuri Reed, Jake Austin Walker, Antonio Cipriano, and Jordan Rodrigues in addition to Alexis.

The Wibberleys wrote the pilot episode of National Treasure, which will be directed by Mira Nair. Along with Rick Muirragui, who also acts as a writer, Bruckheimer, Cormac Marianne Wibberley, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Nair, and Turteltaub executive produce the series. In Baton Rouge, production is slated to begin this month.

Zeta-Jones received an Oscar for Chicago and a Tony for her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music as Desirée Armfeldt. She recently acted in the Lifetime original film Cocaine Godmother, which is based on the true story of Griselda Blanco, a notorious drug boss. UTA and Ziffren Brittenham represent Zeta-Jones.