Claire Danes Leads ‘The Beast In Me’ Netflix Series From Gabe Rotter; Sets ‘Homeland’ Reunion With Howard Gordon; Jodie Foster & Conan O’Brien EP
28.03.2024 - 18:03
/ deadline.com
Netflix has given the green light to The Beast In Me, a limited series headlined and executive produced by Claire Danes. In addition to Danes, the mystery thriller project, created, written and executive produced by Gabe Rotter, is executive produced by Jodie Foster, Conan O’Brien via Conaco and Homeland co-creator/executive producer Howard Gordon who will serve as showrunner, reuniting with the acclaimed series’ star/executive producer Danes. 20th Television is the studio.
The surprising mix of big names attached to the series reflects its long, twisty path to the screen — indicative of how hard it often is to get a show made — which we will get into in a bit.
In The Beast In Me, since the tragic death of her young son, acclaimed author Aggie Wiggs (Danes) has receded from public life, unable to write, a ghost of her former self. But she finds an unlikely subject for a new book when the house next door is bought by Nile Sheldon, a famed and formidable real estate mogul who was once the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. At once horrified and fascinated by this man, Aggie finds herself compulsively hunting for the truth – chasing his demons while fleeing her own – in a game of cat and mouse that might turn deadly.
Executive producing the series are creator Rotter, showrunner Gordon, O’Brien, Jeff Ross and David Kissinger for Conaco; Foster and Daniel Pearle (American Crime Story).
The origin of The Beast In Me can be traced back 6-7 years ago when Rotter, who worked on both the original X-Files and its revival, wrote his initial script on spec, featuring a male protagonist. After the script failed to generate any interest, Rotter’s team suggested a gender swap of the main character and he rewrote the project