American actress Charlotte Kate Fox was tapped Tuesday to play a lead role in NHK's upcoming morning drama series "Massan," based on the true story of Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Japan's whiskey industry.

With the selection, Fox becomes the first non-Japanese actress to play one of the main characters in the public broadcaster's perennial, limited-run "Morning Drama."

Fox will play Taketsuru's Scottish wife, Rita, in the series, whose 150 15-minute episodes will begin airing in September, according to NHK.