While we still think of him as one half of Fry & Laurie, or as part of the Blackadder cast, Hugh Laurie is a bona-fide international star. 

His eight-season run as the misanthropic medial genius Dr. Gregory House concluded in 2012, and the actor now seems to pick and choose. He popped up as the “Captain” of Avenue 5, and enjoyed a recurring role as Sen. Tom James on Veep. Plus, of course, his villanious turn as Richard Roper in The Night Manager.

In 2022, he also took the director’s chair for an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?

Now, Laurie has been announced as the lead in the upcoming Apple TV+ thriller The Wanted Man. The eight-part series comes from creator, writer and showrunner George Kay (Hijack, Lupin).

Here’s the setup:

“The Wanted Man” charts the rise and fall of Felix Carmichael (Laurie), the elusive and powerful head of notorious British crime syndicate ‘The Capital.’ Untouchable for 20 years, Carmichael is finally apprehended, but while he’s held in the infamous Staplehurst prison, it becomes clear that he’s been betrayed by one of his own. As the traitor moves to dismantle the empire he has built, Carmichael must risk everything in a daring escape. Willing to stop at nothing to take his revenge, if he succeeds, he’ll be a wanted man once more.

Alongside Hugh Laurie, the series stars Thandiwe Newton, Fionn Whitehead, Gina McKee, Hazel Doupe, Elliott Heffernan and Stephen Dillane.

The director is Jakob Verbruggen (Dark Matter). Executive producers are George Kay, Willow Grylls (Des) and Matt Sandford (The Long Shadow). The series comes from New Pictures and Kay’s Observatory Pictures.

We’ll keep you posted on The Wanted Man.