Showtime has cast film and television star Joshua Jackson (Fringe, Dawson's Creek) in its drama pilot The Affair. Jackson joins previously announced cast members Dominic West (The Wire, The Hours), Ruth Wilson (The Lone Ranger, Luther) and Maura Tierney (The Good Wife, ER).

Jackson will play the role of Cole, a hard-edged cowboy who manages a ranch on the eastern tip of Long Island that has been in his family for generations. Cole is married to Allison (Golden Globe nominee Ruth Wilson) a young woman, working in a pancake house, trying to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragedy. Their emotionally charged marriage becomes even more complicated when Allison begins an affair with Noah (Golden Globe nominee Dominic West), a New Yorker who is spending the summer with his family out on the island. Emmy nominee Maura Tierney will play Helen, Noah's college sweetheart, best friend, mother of his children, lover and wife of 17 years, whose world will be buffeted by Noah's infidelity and who, over time, will swing back and forth from understanding to furious, and from forgiving to vengeful.

Award-winning playwright and writer/producer Sarah Treem (House of Cards, In Treatment) wrote the original script with Hagai Levi. They first worked together on the American adaption of Levi's show In Treatment. The Affair is an intense and intimate exploration of two marriages and an affair that disrupts them - with all of the complex consequences that result. Written by Sarah Treem from a story by Treem and Levi, this provocative, one-hour relationship drama will be told separately from the male and female perspective. Treem and Levi also serve as executive producers alongside director and executive producer Mark Mylod (Shameless).

Joshua Jackson is best known for his starring role in J.J. Abrams' Fringe and his iconic role as fast-talking, self-deprecating Pacey Witter on Dawson's Creek. On the feature film side, Jackson most recently starred opposite Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Lay the Favorite for director Stephen Frears and in Inescapable opposite Marisa Tomei. Additional film credits include the critically-acclaimed ensemble drama Bobby, Shutter, The Skulls, The Safety Of Objects, Cruel Intentions and Aurora Borealis. On stage, Jackson enjoyed a successful run on London's West End starring in David Mamet's acclaimed comedy A Life In The Theatre alongside Patrick Stewart.