Josh Hartnett to star in new Sky Original limited series, The Fear Index

Josh Hartnett (Penny Dreadful) is to star in the taut new Sky Original thriller The Fear Index, based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris. Adapted by Paul Andrew Williams and Caroline Bartleet, and directed by David Caffrey (The Alienist, Peaky Blinders), the fast-paced four-part limited series also sees Hartnett joined by Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie, Innocent), Arsher Ali (The Ritual, Informer) and Grégory Montel (Call My Agent).  It will begin filming this month in Hungary and air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW later this year.

Hartnett will star as Dr Alex Hoffman, a computer scientist and genius who is ready to make a killing. Alongside his Hedge Fund business partner and best friend, Hugo (Ali), he’s launching VIXAL-4 to investors — an AI-driven system that exploits fear in the financial markets and operates at lightning speed to make big returns. The promise is billions, the rich are ready to get richer… but this is not the day Alex and Hugo had planned on. What follows is a fast-paced journey through the worst 24 hours of Alex’s life – cutting across reality, memory and paranoid fantasy, forcing him to question everything he sees with his own eyes.

Sharon Hughff, Executive Producer, Left Bank Pictures, said “This could not be a more timely moment to explore the sinister application of AI, and we are very excited to partner with Sky to bring Robert Harris’s prescient thriller to the screen.”

You can read the full press release for more details. We’ll bring you more as production proceeds.