In their latest book-to-TV adaptation, Netflix has announced that they have picked up Devil in Ohio as a limited series for the streaming service. An eight-episode drama, based on the novel by Daria Polatin, the suspenseful thriller will star Emily Deschanel in her first lead role since Bones went off the air in 2017. Polatin is also set to serve as showrunner and executive producer for the series, which is currently in production in Vancouver.
Based on Polatin’s novel, which is inspired by a true story, Devil in Ohio follows Dr. Suzanne Mathis (Deschanel), a hospital psychiatrist who takes in a mysterious young girl (Madeleine Arthur), who turns out to be an escapee from a mysterious cult embedded in the next town over. However, the cult will stop at nothing to get the young girl back, and soon Suzanne’s world is turned upside down as the girl’s presence in her home threatens to tear her entire family apart.
The series will be Deschanel’s first television appearance since her recurring role in TNT’s Animal Kingdom in 2019 — but this isn’t Polatin’s first rodeo with television either. The playwright and author also wrote and produced two seasons of Amazon’s Jack Ryan, starring John Krasinski, and Hulu’s Shut Eye, and serving as co-executive producer on Amazon’s Hunters, starring Al Pacino, and Castle Rock, Netflix’s Stephen King-inspired series. She also currently serves as executive story editor for Starz’s new wrestling drama, Heels.
Also set to star in Devil in Ohio are Sam Jaeger as Peter, Gerardo Celasco as Detective Lopez, Xaria Dotson as Jules, Alisha Newton as Helen, and Naomi Tan as Dani. Directors include John Fawcett, Brad Anderson, Leslie Hope, and Steve Adelson, with executive producers Rachel Miller for Haven Entertainment, and Andrew Wilder. As it is still in production, Netflix has not yet announced a release date for the series.