Critically Acclaimed Director Jakob Verbruggen to Helm TNT's THE ALIENIST

BAFTA-nominated director Jakob Verbruggen (London Spy, Black Mirror, The Fall) will direct THE ALIENIST for TNT. The series is executive-produced by Emmy(R) winner Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) and co-produced by Paramount Television and Studio T, Turner's in-house studio that creates and owns original content for TNT and TBS. It is produced in association with Academy Award(R) winner Eric Roth (Forrest Gump), Oscar(R) nominee Hossein Amini (Drive) and Anonymous Content's Steve Golin and Rosalie Swedlin serving as executive producers. Production will begin in early 2017 in Budapest.

Based on the international best-selling novel by Caleb Carr, The Alienist is a psychological thriller set in 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 and newspaper reporter John Moore to conduct the investigation in secret. They are aided by a makeshift crew of singular characters, among them the intrepid Sara Howard, 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.

Verbruggen is a seasoned director with an extensive and critically lauded career behind the camera. His credits include directing the award-winning television series London Spy, The Fall and Code 37. Most recently, he directed an episode of the anthology series BLACK MIRROR and the penultimate episode and season four finale of House of Cards.

"Jakob will capture the intensity of this edge-of-your-seat thriller," said Sarah Aubrey, executive vice president of original programming for TNT. "The Alienist's unique setting and characters, along with its pervasively tense and unsettling mood, couldn't be in better hands."

"No one can bring The Alienist to life better than director Jakob Verbruggen and the stellar producing team of Cary Fukunaga, Eric Roth, Hossein Amini and Anonymous Content," said Amy Powell, president of Paramount Television and Digital Entertainment. "TNT is the perfect home for Caleb Carr's intense and emotional crime story during the iconic gilded age in New York's history. Paramount TV is excited to add this psychological thrill ride to our upcoming slate."

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