Claire Danes cast in Netflix series The Beast In Me

Netflix has greenlit The Beast In Me, a limited series starring Claire Danes as lead actress and executive producer. In The Beast In Me, acclaimed writer Aggie Wiggs (Danes) has withdrawn from public life since the tragic death of her son and is no longer able to write. But she finds an unlikely subject for a new book when the house next door is purchased by Nile Sheldon, a famous and formidable real estate mogul who was once the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance.

Aggie is shocked and fascinated by this man and compulsive searches for the truth. She hunts his demons while fleeing her own in a cat-and-mouse game that could end fatally.



In addition to Danes (pictured), the mystery thriller project, created, written and produced by Gabe Rotter, executive produced by Jodie Foster, Conan O'Brien via Conaco and Homeland co-creator/executive producer Howard Gordon who will serve as showrunner, reunites with the critically acclaimed lead actress/executive producer Danes.

20th Television is the studio. Gordon no longer has a deal with Sony Pictures TV, which explains his involvement.

The surprising mix of big names attached to the series reflects its long, winding road to the screen - an indication of how difficult it often is to get a series made - which we'll get to in a moment. The story can also inspire aspiring writers not to give up.

Executive producing the series are creator Rotter, showrunner Gordon, O'Brien, Jeff Ross and David Kissinger for Conaco; Foster and Daniel Pearle.

The origins of The Beast In Me lie six or seven years ago, when Rotter, who worked on both the original The X Files and its revival, wrote his first script with a male protagonist. After the script failed to generate interest, Rotter's team suggested gender-swapping the main character and rewrote the project with Aggie as the new lead actress.

The market was still lukewarm, so Rotter's manager, Larry Shuman, called Conaco President Kissinger whom he had known since the days when Kissinger was executive producer for House M.D., created by Shuman's regular client David Shore.

Conaco was built around the O'Brien brand and was firmly in the comedy series business, but the company wanted to expand into drama and Kissinger agreed to read the script. He loved it, shared it with the rest of the Conaco partners, O'Brien and Ross, and the company, which just signed multiple deals with Warner Bros. who had left TV behind and had no ties to a studio, stepped on board.

Kissinger in turn passed the script on to his college girlfriend Foster, whom he envisioned as a possible lead actress for Aggie, as a director and as an executive producer. Foster committed, and after several meetings with Rotter and a series of notes over an eight-month period, she came on board to direct and produce, but not star.

Foster suggested Danes and sent her the script. The Emmy-winning Homeland actress responded and signed off. Through its producing deal with Homeland studio Fox21, The Beast In Me landed there for development more than four years ago. It then migrated to 20th Television following the merger of the two brands.

The project was created at Netflix and went through writers' rooms and multiple incarnations, with the antagonist changing identities. The network eventually went back to a version of the original idea that involved Foster and Danes, with head of drama Jimmy Howe championing the project throughout the long process.

The Beast In Me was given a green flashing light that became permanent when Gordon became showrunner. He in turn brought along Pearle, co-showrunner with Gordon on season two of the Fox series Accused (US).

Gordon and Alex Gansa's overall deal at Sony Pictures TV had expired and was not renewed, so Gordon was a free agent. In his return to his old studio, 20th Television, he has been contracted for this series. There is no total contract behind it. Foster is no longer directing due to her schedule, but remains executive producer.

This is only the second 20th Fox series for Netflix joining Steve Levitan's Kristen Bell comedy series and the first drama since the studio was acquired by Disney five years ago.

Danes recently starred in FX's limited series Fleishman is in Trouble, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award, Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award. Her other recent projects include starring in HBO Max's Steven Soderbergh's Full Circle (2023) and Apple TV+'s The Essex Serpent.