'Newsroom' casts Marcia Gay Harden in vacated role

As abruptly as a new role on HBO's "The Newsroom" was vacated, it has been refilled.

Last week, new addition to the cast of "The Newsroom"'s second season, Rosemarie DeWitt, unexpectedly announced that she would be leaving the series due to scheduling conflicts. “As the production schedule for season two of The Newsroom has shifted, Rosemarie DeWitt has encountered scheduling conflicts and will no longer be able to continue in her role,” HBO said in a statement.

Today, the cable network announced that veteran actress Marcia Gay Harden will step into the role that DeWitt was set to play. The actress boasts an impressive resume that includes roles in both film ("Miller's Crossing", "Into The Wild") and television ("Law & Order: SVU", "Royal Pains"), most notably winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 2001 feature "Pollock."

Harden will portray Rebecca Halliday, a lawyer who defends Atlantis Cable News channel in a nasty wrongful termination lawsuit. DeWitt had already filmed several scenes in the role, which will have to be re-shot with the newly cast actress.

Harden joins the Aaron Sorkin political drama's second season along with fellow new cast members Patton Oswalt, Joel Johnstone, and Grace Gummer. No official return date is set for the new season.