TNT Lands Cary Fukunaga's Adaptation of 'The Alienist'

[Sawyer]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tnt-adds-cary-fukunagas-alienist-795203

Ahead of his first upfront presentation as Turner's chief content officer and head of both networks, Reilly announced plans to rebrand comedy-focused TBS and a shift in focus at drama-themed TNT, in addition to doubling the number of originals at both cablers. The new directions included a limited series order to Cary Fukunaga's The Alienist.

The Alienist, meanwhile, was first announced in April and reteams Fukunaga and True Detective producers Anonymous Content. The series hails from Paramount TV, with TNT Original Productions boarding as a co-producer. Fukunaga will direct the adapation of Caleb Carr's New York Times best-seller. The drama, which also reunites former Reilly with Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Grey after the former served as president of Brad Grey Television. Academy Award winners Eric Roth (Munich) and Hossein Amini (Drive) will exec produce alongside Fukunaga. Amini will pen the script. The drama is described as a fast-paced and atmospheric psychological thriller set in the gritty world of Gilded Age New York. Following a series of haunting and gruesome murders, psychiatrist Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper reporter John Moore and police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt come together, employing emerging disciplines of psychology and early crime investigation techniques to track down one of New York’s first serial killers. Anonymous' Steve Golin and Rosalie Swedlin also exec produce.

Yas Fukunaga YAAAAS.

 

[Shifty]

Good on TNT to lock up Fukunaga for a limited series that could be their True Detective.

Prior to the twentieth century, persons suffering from mental illness were thought to be 'alienated,' not only from the rest of society but from their own true natures. Those experts who studied mental pathologies were known as alienists."

—"Note" at the beginning of the novel

Paramount bought the movie rights to the book in 1993 and could never get a script they liked. And of course a TV adaptation will do it better justice than a 2.5 hour movie ever could. There was also a sequel written so if it does well, they could be back for more.

Certainly a show to look forward to for 2016.