Dakota Fanning is coming to the small screen, in a new series for TNT called The Alienist. The network made the announcement at the Television Critics Association's (TCA) Winter Press Tour.
Fanning will play Sara Howard, a "headstrong secretary at Police Headquarters" who, along with co-stars Daniel Brühl and Luke Evans investigae a series of brutal murders in New York during the Gilded Age (from about 1870 to 1900).
The series sounds like a slam dunk for lovers of noir thrillers, as it will be directed and executive-produced by Black Mirror’s Jakob Verbruggen, with Cary Fukunaga of True Detective as one of it’s executive producers.
Fanning's character is described as the first woman hired by the NYPD, with a mind set on becoming their first female detective. Bucking trends of the time, she "shakes hands like a man" and has a mind for solving crimes. If you thought watching sexism on Mad Men and Good Girls Revolt, was jolting just wait until you watch it in the 19th century!
The series is based on Caleb Carr's best-selling novel of the same name. It will debut on TNT in late 2017.
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