Chris Pine and Patty Jenkins are re-teaming for the six-episode drama “One Day She’ll Darken,” which has been ordered straight to series on TNT.
TNT announced Thursday at TCA that it greenlit the show based on the autobiography of Fauna Hodel, a woman given away at birth by her teenage mother in 1949 to a black restroom attendant at a Nevada casino. As she uncovers the truth about her birth, she discovers her connection to infamous Hollywood doctor Dr. George Hodel, who has been connected with the 1947 Black Dahlia murder of Elizabeth Short.
Dr. Hodel was considered a suspect at the time, but was never formally charged. It was only after his death that his son Steve Hodel, a Los Angeles homicide detective, came out and accused his father of Short’s and several other murders.
Pine will play Jay Singletary, a former Marine turned paparazzo who was disgraced by the Hodel story but sees in this new story some redemption. However, he doesn’t expect how the story will lead him into “the evil in men’s hearts that will shake the unsteady Jay to his foundations,” according to an official description.
Jenkins, who most recently directed the box-office hit “Wonder Woman,” will direct the pilot, although the network doesn’t rule out her directing more episodes. Pine co-starred in the blockbuster as Steve Trevor, a military pilot and the titular superhero’s love interest.
“Patty Jenkins is a phenomenally talented director who has always delivered powerful characters, from the unforgettable true-life serial killer in ‘Monster’ to the game-changing superhero warrior in ‘Wonder Woman,’” Sarah Aubrey, executive vice president of original programming for TNT, said in a statement. “‘One Day She’ll Darken’ is a mind-boggling true mystery with unpredictable twists and turns and edge-of-your-seat chills.”
Sam Sheridan, writer of “A Fighter’s Heart” — and Jenkins’ husband — is set to write the series.
“Sam Sheridan, an expert storyteller, has delivered scripts that entertain, frighten and tell tales of redemption and a powerful search for identity,” Aubrey continued.
“One Day She’ll Darken” will be produced by Turner’s Studio T. Jenkins, Sheridan, Pine and Michael Sugar (“13 Reasons Why”) will serve as executive producers.
The series is set to begin shooting this fall.