The success of "Room" has seen quite a few doors open up for director Lenny Abrahamson. This summer he’s slated to shoot “The Little Stranger,” which will reteam him with “Frank” star Domhnall Gleeson, while he’s also got the true story boxing tale "A Man’s World" developing. And now, the small screen is coming for the director.
Deadline reports that Hulu has ordered two seasons and twenty episodes of "Chance," a medical thriller that will be produced by Abrahamson, who will direct several episodes, and will feature "House" star Hugh Laurie in the lead. Based on the novel by Kem Nunn, it follows a neuropsychiatrist who finds himself at odds with the abusive spouse of a patient. The twist? That antagonist is also works for the police department. Here’s the book synopsis:
A dark tale involving psychiatric mystery, sexual obsession, fractured identities, and terrifyingly realistic violence — Chance is set amid the back streets of California’s Bay Area, far from the cleansing breezes of the ocean. Dr. Eldon Chance, a neuropsychiatrist, is a man primed for spectacular ruin. Into Dr. Chance’s blighted life walks Jaclyn Blackstone, the abused, attractive wife of an Oakland homicide detective, a violent and jealous man. Jaclyn appears to be suffering from a dissociative identity disorder. In time, Chance will fall into bed with her — or is it with her alter ego, the voracious and volatile Jackie Black? The not-so-good doctor, despite his professional training, isn’t quite sure — and thereby hangs his fascination with her. Meanwhile, Chance also meets a young man named D, a self-styled, streetwise philosopher skilled in the art of the blade. It is around this trio of unique and dangerous individuals that long guarded secrets begin to unravel, obsessions grow, and the doctor’s carefully arranged life comes to the brink of implosion.
The wheels are turning very fast on this one, which is already aiming for a 2016 premiere. And why not, since it reportedly took 18 months to coax Laurie to sign on star. So keep your eyes out for this in the next twelve months.
