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She was the neighbor you loved to hate (and in some cases, the neighbor you hated to love) in Orange County, and now Melinda Clarke will become an integral part in the re-invention of "La Femme Nikita."

The actress will play Amanda on the series, a character that has some field experience in the art of espionage and infiltration and she will be tasked with making the new Nikita a presentable asset to the agency.

During her time on "The O.C.," Clarke played Julie Cooper-Nichol, the most scheming of the Newpsies who also happened to have a heart of gold. She will soon be appearing in the CW series, "The Vampire Diaries" which has already been given an early renewal for a second season. She will play the mother of Matt on the series.

She will be joined by Aaron Stanford, probably better known for his role in the X-Men franchise. He played Pyro in "X2" and "The Last Stand," and will be trading in his flaming mutant powers for some gadgets to play the computer specialist on the Nikita team.

The series is set to film a pilot episode, produced by McG (the director of "Charlie's Angels" and "Terminator Salvation").