Scorsese & DiCaprio to develop The Devil in the White City series for Hulu

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

It must be Monday, because it's been announced that acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese and THE DEPARTED alum Leonardo DiCaprio are teaming for yet another project. Based on the book The Devil in the White City, Scorsese and DiCaprio have teamed with Hulu for a series adaptation of Erik Larson's historical novel of the same name. The ofttimes collaborative duo will executive produce the project which is being developed by Paramount TV, alongside Rick Yorn, Emma Koskoff, Jennifer Davisson and Stacey Sher. Meanwhile, DiCaprio, who purchased the rights to Larson's book back in 2010, has tapped Scorsese to direct.

In the case of The Devil in the White City, Larson's novel tells the true story of two men, an architect and a serial killer, whose fates were forever linked by The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. It follows Daniel H. Burnham, a brilliant and fastidious architect racing to make his mark on the world and Henry H. Holmes, a handsome and cunning doctor who fashioned his own pharmaceutical “Murder Castle” on fair grounds – a palace built to seduce, torture and mutilate young women. The story takes the viewer on a tour of murder, romance and mystery in the gilded age.

Craig Erwich, Hulu’s SVP of originals annnounced the upcoming series this afternoon at TCA, where the network was busy creating waves for George Clooney's CATCH-22 as well as Aidy Bryant's upcoming SHRILL comedy. In SHRILL, Bryant stars as Annie, a fat young woman who wants to change her life — but not her body. Annie is trying to start her career while juggling bad boyfriends, a sick parent, and a perfectionist boss.

As for CATCH-22, you can read up on the series' official synopsis below:

Based on Joseph Heller’s seminal novel of the same name, Catch-22 is the story of the incomparable, artful dodger, Yossarian (Christopher Abbott), a US Air Force bombardier in World War II who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy, but rather his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to avoid his military assignments, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule which specifies that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers which are real and immediate is the process of a rational mind; a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but a request to be removed from duty is evidence of sanity and therefore makes him ineligible to be relieved from duty.

Based on the above description for THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, Scorsese and DiCaprio are looking to deliver a truly terrifying tale born from the ashes of North American history. The series is certainly a notable get for Hulu, whose streaming service continues to land high-profile projects as they work to compete against other subscription-based streamers.