Josh Hartnett in Sky Drama The Fear Index

Josh Hartnett (Penny Dreadful) is set to star in the new Sky original thriller The Fear Index, based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris.

The four-part limited series is adapted by Paul Andrew Williams and Caroline Bartleet and directed by David Caffrey (The Alienist, Peaky Blinders). Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie, Innocent), Arsher Ali (The Ritual, Informer) and Grégory Montel (Call My Agent) round out the cast.

Produced by Left Bank Pictures in association with Sky Studios, the series will star Hartnett 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 series plays out as 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.

Gabriel Silver, director of commissioning for drama at Sky Studios, said: “Paul and Caroline’s scripts offer a relentlessly gripping take on a chilling Frankenstein parable of our times, and we are delighted to be working with Left Bank and the incredible cast led by Josh Hartnett to bring Robert Harris’s thrilling story to Sky viewers later this year.”

Sharon Hughff, executive producer for 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 .”

The Fear Index will begin filming this month in Hungary and will air on Sky Atlantic and the streaming service NOW later this year.

International sales for The Fear Index will be handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution on behalf of Sky Studios.