http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/251658/

Lawrence native and Kansas University grad Annie Tedesco landed a lead role in the new BYUtv series “Granite Flats.”

After earning a degree in psychology with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience, Tedesco made her way to Los Angeles, where she successfully auditioned for the comedy troupe the Groundlings, and has appeared in print ads, TV commercials and shows. In the past few years, Tedesco has had cameo appearances on shows including “Modern Family,” “The Mentalist” and “Bones.”

“Granite Flats” — set in 1962 and described as a family-friendly period drama with a sci-fi twist — premieres April 7 on Dish Network, DirecTV and select cable systems, and will be available online at byutv.org.

Here’s what viewers have in store, according to producers:

Granite Flats tells the story of a recently widowed single mom, Beth Milligan (Tedesco), and her 10 year old son Arthur, who move from California to the rural town of Granite Flats, Colorado to start a new life after the untimely and mysterious death of their Air Force pilot husband and father. From the moment of their arrival at the military base where Beth will be employed as a hospital nurse and Arthur will get a post-tragedy restart on life, the wholesome community is quickly revealed to be much more complex than at first glance. Standing alone outside on his first night in Granite Flats, Arthur is the sole witness to a fiery object hurdling across the sky, landing in the nearby hills. Is it a comet, like the budding young scientist believes, or something far more complicated? The spiraling consequences of what Arthur sees and the subsequent explosion that sets the stage for the plot to unfold propels Granite Flats into motion. Under the town’s wholesome surface, a sinister element is brewing that will challenge the faith and humanity of the show’s quirky characters, threaten to shatter any residual innocence left from the past decade and reveal the ubiquitous fear of nuclear attack which defined that era.

Here’s a teaser: