Dakota Fanning is set as the female lead opposite Daniel Brühl and Luke Evans in TNT’s upcoming straight-to-series drama The Alienist, a co-production of Paramount Television and Turner’s Studio T.
Based on the international best-selling novel by Caleb Carr, The Alienist is a psychological thriller set during the Gilded Age of New York City in 1896, a city of vast wealth, extreme poverty and technological innovation. When a series of haunting, gruesome murders of boy prostitutes grips the city, newly appointed police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt calls upon criminal psychologist (aka alienist) Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Brühl) and newspaper reporter John Moore (Evans) to conduct a secret investigation. They are aided by a makeshift crew of singular characters, among them the intrepid Sara Howard (Fanning), a young secretary on Roosevelt’s staff who is determined to become the first female police detective in New York City. Using the emerging disciplines of psychology and early forensic investigation techniques, this band of social outsiders tracks down one of New York City’s first serial killers.
Jakob Verbruggen is set to direct. He exec produces alongside Cary Fukunaga, Eric Roth, Hossein Amini and Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin and Rosalie Swedlin. Production will begin in early 2017 in Budapest.
Fanning is known for her roles in The Twilight franchise and The Secret Life of Bees. She can currently be seen in American Pastoral, directed by and co-starring Ewan McGregor. Her upcoming credits include Please Stand By, Brimstone, Kirsten Dunst’s directorial debut The Bell Jar and Ocean’s Eight. She’s repped by CAA and Echo Lake Entertainment.
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