In a surprising move, David Tennant has been cast as the male lead in the American TV remake of ITV’s Broadchurch.

Tennant will be playing a similar character to the one he played in the UK original, but this time with an American accent.

Reports TV Guide:

Tennant, perhaps best known as the tenth doctor on cult fave Doctor Who, will play a character similar to his role in the original Broadchurch, but this time he’ll use an American accent. As in the U.K. Broadchurch, he’ll play the lead male investigator in the case of a young boy found dead on a beach under a jutting cliff-face.

The casting reunites Tennant with Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall, who’s also executive producing the U.S. version and writing the premiere episode. Dan Futterman (In Treatment, Capote) and Anya Epstein (In Treatment, Homicide) have joined the drama as executive producers and showrunners. The show will also be executive produced by Shine America’s Carolyn Bernstein (The Bridge) and Jane Featherstone (The Hour) from drama producer Kudos.

Fox announced in August that it would air a new version of Broadchurch as part of its “event series” initiative, which also includes the upcoming limited-run dramas 24: Live Another Day and Wayward Pines. The U.S. take is expected to shoot in January and air during the 2014-2015 TV season.

Does this mean Tennant will have time to film Series 2 in the UK?