Richard Dormer to headline Terry Pratchett series 'The Watch'

Richard Dormer has been roped in to star in "The Watch", a BBC America series based on stories from Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" books.

Dormer, best known for playing Beric Dondarrion in "Game of Thrones", will feature as Sam Vimes, the captain of a band of misfit cops known as The Watch.

Set in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, where crime is legal, the show is being touted as an "anarchic drama".

"I'm so thrilled to be part of this brilliant madness and mayhem. I was immediately drawn to the multitude of layers to Sam Vimes, and I find the dynamic between him and his band of disenfranchised comrades very compelling," Dormer said in a statement.

The show will revolve around the group as it rises up from decades of helplessness to save their corrupt city from catastrophe. It is based on "City Watch", a spin-off series within Pratchett's bestselling "Discworld" novels.

It will also star Adam Hugill, Jo Eaton-Kent, Marama Corlett, Lara Rossi and Sam Adewunmi.

Craig Viveiros is attached to direct the eight-episode series. Shooting begins in South Africa at by this month end.