The 22-year-old actress joins previously announced cast members Daniel Bruhl and Luke Evans in the drama series.
Dakota Fanning is heading to TV!
The 22-year-old actress will star as the female lead in TNT’s new drama series, The Alienist. The network announced the exciting news during the Television Critics Association press tour on Saturday.
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Based on Caleb Carr's bestselling book of the same name, the show is set in the Gilded Age of New York City in 1896 and follows the story of a team of three, who investigate a series of brutal murders in secret on behalf of newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt.
Fanning will portray the role of Sara Howard, a secretary on the Police Headquarters staff whose goal is to become the first female police detective in the Big Apple. According to the network, her character is "primly dressed but beautiful," "self-possessed and intelligent," and "shakes hands like a man."
Fanning joins previously announced cast members Daniel Brühl (Rush, Inglorious Bastards, Captain America: Civil War), who stars as forensic psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, and Luke Evans (The Girl on The Train, The Hobbit trilogy), who will play newspaper reporter John Moore.
The Jakob Verbruggen-directed series, which is co-produced by Paramount Television and Studio T, is slated to premiere in late 2017. Production will begin early this year in Budapest.
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Fanning currently stars in American Pastoral, directed by and co-starring Ewan McGregor, who's portraying the role of Lumiere in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast.
ET recently caught up with the 44-year-old actor, who gave us some clues on how much live action fans can expect to see in the movie when it hits theaters in March. Hear more in the video below!