Mare Winningham, fresh off playing alongside fellow "brat packer" Kiefer Sutherland this season on '24,' has landed a plum role in HBO's upcoming adaptation of 'Mildred Pierce.'

The five-part miniseries, based on James M. Cain's classic novel, stars Kate Winslet as the titular character, a depression-era woman caught in a dead-end marriage who sets out to make something of herself. Guy Pearce and indie darling Evan Rachel Wood co-star as Winslet's lover and daughter, respectively.

Does it take an Oscar winner to play a character that's already won an Oscar for another actress? No, but it can't hurt. After over half a year of speculation and rumor, Michael Ausiello in Entertainment Weekly has reported HBO's confirmation that Kate Winslet will star in 'Mildred Pierce,' the remake of the 1945 Joan Crawford movie of the same name.

There's a lot to be excited about with this news. For starters, instead of just a two-hour TV movie, HBO is giving the adaptation of James M. Cain's novel time. It'll be a five-hour miniseries which virtually ensures more time to delve into the original story. Then there's Winslet essaying the role. She's such a good actress that it's a certainty she won't do what Joan did with the role. We'll be seeing another Mildred, Winslet's own interpretation of the role.

We hope her library card is up to date, because Kate Winslet is about to hit the books again.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Winslet, who two years ago graced the screen with her Academy Award-winning performance in 'The Reader,' is once again turning to the written word for inspiration and will next take on the title role in the novel adaptation 'Mildred Pierce,' which has been picked up by HBO after months of rumors and negotiations.

Kate Winslet may play the lead in a new miniseries adaptation of 'Mildred Pierce,' to be written and directed by 'Far From Heaven''s Todd Haynes.

Also in the news today: Comedy Central cancels 'Reno 911!,' while TNT schedules the final season of 'Saving Grace.'

See more of today's top TV headlines after the jump.

Well, nobody can accuse Kate Winslet of not being courageous. The actress -- also an Oscar-winner for The Reader -- is going to do a remake. Right now Mildred Pierce is slated as a miniseries starring Kate Winslet with Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven) writing and directing. HBO is first in line to broadcast the mini, but the contracts haven't been signed yet.

Remakes always make me a little queasy. After all, for every success like The Fugitive, there's a debacle like The Wild Wild West. But this time around it's not a television series being remade, it's a famous and semi-classic Oscar-winner, Mildred Pierce. The name alone evokes images of Joan Crawford with shoulder pads you could die for and a horrible teenage daughter played by Ann Blyth.