Kate Beckinsale stars in the season finale of "Guilty Party"

Today's television landscape has a lot to offer viewers. More and more modern series are blurring the lines between TV genres by blending elements of drama, comedy and action into their existing genres. One such show is about to wrap up its inaugural season, and fans won't want to miss it.

Journalist Beth Burgess (Kate Beckinsale, "Underworld," 2003) struggles to prove she's still got what it takes in the hopes of reviving her fizzling career in the first-ever season finale of "Guilty Party," airing Thursday, Dec. 9, on the Paramount streaming service. This season, she has set out to expose the truth about a case involving Toni (newcomer Jules Latimer), a young mother who was sent to jail for murdering and maiming her husband — crimes she swears she didn't commit.

The 10-episode series, which premiered on Thursday, Oct. 14, is the brainchild of Canadian comedian and writer Rebecca Addelman, whose other credits include the television shows "New Girl" and "Dead to Me." "Guilty Party" was first announced in March 2020 as a series for CBS All Access, which has since been rebranded as Paramount . At the time of its announcement, Addelman explained her vision for the series.

"'Guilty Party' is a genre-bending show that tackles contemporary issues -- the prison system, the death of print journalism and pervasive gun culture, to name a few -- but has, at its core, smart, funny, ambitious and deeply complicated female characters," Addleman said in an official news release.

Those female characters are led by the deeply flawed Beth, who just a year before the events of the series was at the pinnacle of her profession, accepting a prestigious journalism award. As she deals with the fallout of her tanking career in "Guilty Party," she unravels, desperate to regain her status in the industry.

Originally, Isla Fisher ("Confessions of a Shopaholic," 2009) was tapped to play Beth, but the actress pulled out over COVID-19 concerns. Beckinsale was announced as her replacement in December 2020.

Best known for her work in action movies such as the Underworld franchise and costume dramas such as "Emma" (1996) and "Pearl Harbor" (2001), her performance in the period comedy film "Love & Friendship" (2016) earned her a Critics Choice Movie Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy. Like so many other big-screen actors, Beckinsale has taken advantage of the new shorter season trend in the TV industry to appear in "Guilty Party."

While Beckinsale's reputation precedes her, "Guilty Party" was the first professional acting gig for up-and-coming actress Latimer. Her role as Toni offers viewers a window into the modern-day justice system as she advocates for herself, determined to get out of prison and be with the daughter she gave birth to while behind bars.

Laurie Davidson stars in "Guilty Party"

It's a tall order for a newcomer, but Latimer has been garnering praise for her portrayal, which should come as no surprise considering she's a recent graduate of prestigious performing arts school Juilliard.

Beckinsale and Latimer are supported by a tight, talented cast. Billed by many as a "dramedy" (a combination of drama and comedy), "Guilty Party" also boasts plenty of action for TV fans as Beth runs afoul of nefarious characters such as George, played by Laurie Davidson ("The Good Liar," 2019).

A low-level gun runner, George is prone to losing his temper and often uses violence to solve problems. The English actor starred as William Shakespeare in the TNT series "Will," and as Mr. Mistoffelees in the ill-fated 2019 film version of "Cats."

Geoff Stults ("The Finder") plays Beth's husband, Marco, a park ranger who tries to be sympathetic to his wife. Once a child actor, Stults had appeared in such TV shows as "7th Heaven," "October Road" and "Happy Town" before landing a leading role in the "Bones" spinoff, "The Finder," opposite late actor Michael Clark Duncan ("The Green Mile," 1999).

Beth also has the support of Fiona, played by Tiya Sircar ("The Good Place").

Fiona works alongside Beth at a BuzzFeed-esque online publication. Sircar's other credits include the TV shows "Star Wars Rebels" and "Alex, Inc." as well as the film "The Internship" (2013).

While Fiona makes a great wing-woman for Beth, she faces stiff competition from rival Tessa, portrayed by Alanna Ubach ("Legally Blonde," 2001). Once overshadowed by Beth, Tessa is now a chief crime correspondent.

As a voiceover artist, Ubach is known primarily as Mamá Imelda in "Coco" (2017), Liz in "The Spectacular Spider-Man" and as the star of "El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera."

Andre Hyland ("The Death of Dick Long," 2019) also appears in "Guilty Party" as dimwitted Wyatt, a gun runner with a hair-trigger. Known for his work as an actor, writer, director and visual artist, his film credits include "Old Haunt" (2019), "Funnel" (2014) and "The 4th" (2016).

Not all critics have been kind to "Guilty Party," and the series has earned a Rotten Tomatoes rating of just 38%. The strength of its cast, however, is just one of the many things its fans have come to love.

Find out how it all unravels for Beth and Toni in the season finale of "Guilty Party," airing Thursday, Dec. 9, on Paramount .