Samuel Barnett Cast in Title Role of BBC America’s Dirk Gently

NEW YORK: Samuel Barnett (Twelfth Night, The History Boys, Penny Dreadful) has been cast in the title role of BBC America’s new original scripted series Dirk Gently.

The announcement comes on the heels of Elijah Wood (The Trust, Cooties, Wilfred) being cast in the role of Todd, assistant to the eccentric “holistic” detective Dirk Gently. The series, an adaptation of Douglas Adams’ comic novels, debuts this fall on BBC America.

Robert Cooper (Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe) has been named series’ showrunner and Oscar-winning director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest, Justified, Masters of Sex) has signed on to direct the series’ first two episodes.

“Dirk Gently’s characters are complete originals,” said Sarah Barnett, the president and general manager of BBC America. “Sam Barnett and Elijah Wood—who represent genius talent from both sides of the Atlantic—will brilliantly play these unique roles. Plus, with Robert Cooper and Dean Parisot joining Max Landis, the Dirk Gently creative team is now tremendously interconnected through great experience and thrilling vision.”