David Duchovny looks set for an immediate return to the small screen when his current series Californication finishes its seven-season run this year, with The X-Files star signing on for NBC’s 13-episode event series Aquarius, which will see him as a police detective on the trail of notorious cult leader Charles Manson.
According to Variety, “Duchovny will play a Los Angeles police sergeant with a complicated personal life. In the late 1960s, he and his younger partner begin tracking a small-time criminal who specializes in luring vulnerable young women to his ’cause’. The plan is that the series will follow “the twists and turns” of Manson’s early efforts, but the horrific murder spree in August 1969 that made his name synonymous with evil will not enter the story until subsequent seasons.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with [NBC Entertainment Chief] Bob Greenblatt again and coming back to broadcast television,” said Duchovny. “I think Aquarius has a chance to be a special show and I can’t wait to get going.”
Aquarius has been written by John McNamara (In Plain Sight, Profit), who will also serve as executive producer alongside Duchovny, Marty Adelstein (Prison Break) and Duchovny’s manager Melanie Greene. The series is being produced by Marty Adelstein Productions, along with ITV Studios.