Shadowhunters, the new The Mortal Instruments television series, has cast its lead actress. Katherine McNamara has officially been cast to play the lead character and heroine in the series, Clary Fray.

For those that may not know, the character, 18-years-old, is an art student. Her future plans are scrapped when she realizes that her life is a lie on her birthday. The show is based on The Mortal Instruments Young Adult fantasy book series, written by Cassandra Clare.

Shadowhunters is the tale of Clary's gradual involvement in the world of Shadowhunters, which are human angel hybrids who search for demons.

This happens after her mother is attacked by a demon. In order to save her mother, Clary steps into the world of faeries, vampires, werewolves and warlocks.

She must also uncover her family's secrets, and learn about powers that she never even knew she had. Ultimately, she links with a group of Shadowhunters, which includes Jace Wayland.

Wayland is a soldier and expert Shadowhunter who is also looking to get revenge for the murder of a parent. He will be played by Dominic Sherwood of Vampire Academy. Her best friend, Simon, will also be joining her on her quest. Alberto Rosende will be playing the part of Simon, and Emeraude Toubia will be playing Isabelle Lightwood, who is a trained fighter and also described as "as lethal as she is attractive" in her character description.

McNamara has also starred in New Year's Eve, Happyland and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials which will be released soon. Shadowhunters is expect to reboot the Mortal Instruments franchise, following the 2013 film The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.