Deadline announced today that Chris Messina has been cast as the male lead for HBO’s miniseries Sharp Objects.
Messina has previously been seen in other dramas such as The Newsroom, Argo, and Damages, but is also well-known for his regular role on The Mindy Project. Messina will be playing Detective Richard Willis, who gives necessary support to a small-town sheriff after the murder of a young girl. As the male lead, Messina will share scenes with Amy Adams, who plays a reporter named Camille Preaker. Preaker and Willis will join forces as they endeavor to find the murderer.
Sharp Objects is, of course, based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn. Since the ludicrous success of Gone Girl, HBO has picked up the mysterious miniseries. Flynn has not chosen to write the pilot screenplay, but Marti Noxon (UnREAL, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) stepped in as writer and showrunner, although the two plan to write episodes together as the eight part miniseries progresses.
The drama of Sharp Objects begins as Camille Preaker is released from a short stay at a psychiatric hospital, and is tugged into the world of reporting after two girls from her hometown are murdered. Working alongside Detective Willis to find the killer, Preaker must try and stay afloat, even as the memories of her past threaten to weigh her down.