Outside of his recurring role as Senator Tom James on HBO's Veep, Hugh Laurie hasn't done that much television work since House ended its eight-season run in 2012, but that'll change later this year with the release of his AMC/BBC miniseries The Night Manager (which also stars Tom Hiddleston), and Deadline is reporting that the actor will lead a new drama series for Hulu titled Chance.
The streaming service has ordered two seasons and twenty episodes of the medical thriller, which is based on the Kem Nunn novel of the same name. In addition to writing the television adaptation, Kunn and Alexandra Cunningham (Aquarius, Desperate Housewives) will also executive produce Chance with ROOM director Lenny Abrahamson. Cunningham will serve as the series' showrunner, while Abrahamson has been set to direct several episodes.
Chance is described as a provocative psychological thriller that focuses on Eldon Chance (Laurie), a San Francisco-based forensic neuropsychiatrist who reluctantly gets sucked into a violent and dangerous world of mistaken identity, police corruption and mental illness. After an ill-advised decision regarding an alluring patient who may or may not be struggling with a multiple personality disorder, Chance finds himself in the crosshairs of her abusive spouse, who also happens to be a ruthless police detective. In over his head, Chance’s decent into the city’s shadowy underbelly, all while navigating the waters of a contentious divorce and the tribulations of his teenage daughter, soon spirals into an ever deepening exploration of one of mankind’s final frontiers — the shadowy, undiscovered country of the human mind.
Chance will likely head into production this spring, and the plan is for it to premiere on Hulu in late 2016. Are you interested in checking out Hugh Laurie's new show?