Langdon is starting to take shape at NBC.
The in-the-works pilot has cast Succession’s Ashley Zukerman as Robert Langdon, the character made famous in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code novels.
Zukerman is taking on the role Tom Hanks played in three movies based on the novel series.
While the show is being billed as a prequel, it will actually be based on the novel The Lost Symbol, the third in Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon books.
The popular Tom Hanks fronted movie series skipped the third book entirely, opting to end the movie franchise with Inferno.
The novel takes place after The Da Vinci code, but thanks to the power of the reboot, the series will take place long before the original novel.
The series is said to center on a young Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor “who finds himself pulled into a series of deadly puzzles when his mentor is kidnapped,” per the official description.
“The CIA forces him onto a task force where he uncovers a chilling conspiracy.”
Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie, co-creators of TV’s Scream, will pen and showrun the series, serving as EPs alongside Brown, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Anna Culp, and Samie Falvey.
Zukerman is probably most well-known for his role on HBO drama Succession, where he recurs as Nate Sofrelli. It’s unclear whether his role in Langdon should it go to series would mean he would have to leave the critically acclaimed series.
NBC recently adapted The Lincoln Rhyme novels for the small screen with a cast that includes Russel Hornsby and Arielle Kebbel.
The series has not been a roaring success, but it has kept the Fridays at 8 pm time period warm while The Blacklist is on hiatus.
A decision on a second season is expected to come soon given that the first season is about to wrap.
Other drama pilots at NBC also include At That Age, Debris, Echo, La Brea, and Ordinary Joe.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.