Daniel Brühl to Star in TNT’s Adaptation of The Alienist

TNT will adapt best-selling novel The Alienist for television, according to an exclusive report by Deadline. Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning will star in the direct-to-series adaptation of Caleb Carr's 1994 international best seller of the same name. The Alienist is expected to be a psychological thriller, set during the Gilded Age of New York City in 1896. New York City police commissioner (and future POTUS) Teddy Roosevelt calls upon the services of an Alienist (criminal psychologist) to help him stop a potential serial killer who is murdering young male prostitutes in the city. Dr. Lazlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) and journalist John Moore (Luke Evans) will secretly attempt to solve the murders during the series, with the help of the commissioner's young secretary Sara Howard, played by Dakota Fanning. The historical fiction series will feature the new disciplines of psychology and forensic science, techniques many viewers now may take for granted on crime shows set in the modern world. Daniel Brühl was the featured villain Helmut Zemo in Captain America: Civil War and may also be remembered for his roles in Inglourious Basterds and Rush. Luke Evans is known for his work in the Hobbit trilogy, and for his role as the main villain. Owen Shaw. in Furious 7. He is also set to play Gaston in Disney's highly anticipated live-action film version of Beauty and the Beast later this year. Dakota Fanning is known for her role as a child actor in Man on Fire and, more recently, from her work in The Twilight franchise and The Secret Life of Bees. She was also seen recently in the 2016 film American Pastoral. The Alienist will be a co-production of Paramount Television and Turner’s Studio T. Jakob Verbruggen is set to direct and executive produce. Production will begin in Budapest, Hungary in early 2017. No other casting news or potential air dates have been announced at this time.