I quite liked the movie adaptation of Lemony Snickets: A Series of Unfortunate Events. The movie directed by Brad Siberling was an unwieldy film with a look that truly captured the bizarre creations of the books and featured some wonderful, if not over the top, performances by Jim Carrey. So, when Netflix announced that they were going to grab the franchise for adaptation into a TV series, I would say I was certainly curious. One of the things I was interested to see was who they would cast in the key role of Count Olaf, who is an off the wall, ‘mad-nutter’ in the books.
Well, we now need to wait no longer as Hollywood Reporter has learned that Neil Patrick Harris has landed this role for the Paramount television series. Neil Patrick Harris is certainly an actor that is as equally show, thought perhaps not as over the top a person as Jim Carrey. It does also perhaps highlight that they will be moving away from some of the dark and strange aesthetic in the movie and head for a more grounded approach for the TV series.
Interesting, it has been reported that Mark Hudis has left the production as show-runner for the series and no replacement has yet been announced. What effect that will have on the series, remains to be seen, but with a strong lead star signed on, I’m pretty sure they will be able to secure some other top talent for the role
A Series of Unfortunate Events tells the tale of orphaned children Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire, who find themselves in the villainous clutches of an evil uncle named Count Olaf who has designs on their family fortune. Each of the kids has their own special abilities which they use to evade the continued attempts from Count Olaf to receive their inheritance.
Harris is next set to be seen on the big screen in Alexander Payne’s Downsizing, opposite Matt Damon and Jason Sudeikis. That project is due to start shooting in the second quarter for 2016.
No official release date has been announced for this series.
Last Updated: January 18, 2016