Showtime has signed two actors to flesh out the casts of two new series, "The Borgias" and "The Big C," reports the Hollywood Reporter.

Renaissance crime drama "The Borgias" has tapped Joanne Whalley as the female lead, playing opposite Jeremy Irons, who is portraying Rodrigo Borgia.

According to the report, Whalley’s character is the mother of Borgia’s children before he became one of the Catholic Church’s most infamous popes. Whalley played the title character in the 1994 miniseries "Scarlett" and in the 2000 TV movie "Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis."

The report also says that Brian Cox has been cast as Laura Linney’s father on "The Big C." He’s appeared recently in "Deadwood" and "Kings."