As announced by Deadline, Actor Michiel Huisman (Age of Adeline, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society) is set to play the male lead in NBC’s upcoming procedural crime pilot What the Dead Know, from Universal Television (a division of Universal Studio Group) and Wolf Entertainment. 

Based on former New York City death investigator Barbara Butcher’s memoir of the same name and written by Beth Rinehart (FBI: Most Wanted, NCIS: New Orleans), What the Dead Know follows whip-smart death Investigator Ava Ledger (Taylor Schilling; Orange Is The New Black, The Lucky One) as she teams up with the NYPD to solve the department’s hardest cases. Huisman’s character is NYPD homicide detective William Grant, who believes in a clear cut and strict kind of justice, via Deadline.

Butcher’s memoir details her life and work as a pioneering female medical examiner investigator during NYC’s darkest hour during 9/11, and her experiences working with the dead.

Deadline reported that this series marks Dutch actor Huisman’s first regular U.S. broadcast television role, after a recurring appearance in ABC’s Nashville when the first two seasons of the country music drama aired on the network. He was one of three actors tested for the role of William – showing how competitive the booking landscape is post-Peak TV. 

mxdwn has previously reported on Husiman’s castings, which includes series regular roles on Treme, Game of Thrones, and Mayfair Witches, with lead parts for The Flight Attendant, Angela Black, and The Haunting of Hill House.

Deadline reported that Rinehart will also serve as executive producer with Tom Thayer (Hitchcock, BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer), Anastasia Puglisi (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, FBI), Peter Jankowski (When You’re Strange, Chicago P.D.), and Wolf Entertainment’s Dick Wolf (Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent). Also credited as co-EPs are Rebecca McGill (FBI, FBI: International), Kevin Plunkett (CIA, The Brand), and author Butcher, along with Fred Berner (Pollock, Vanya on 42nd Street) as director/executive producer.

Huisman’s recent credits include Netflix’s The Abandons and Echo 3 from Apple TV, as well as a series regular role in AMC’s Mayfair Witches upcoming season three, as reported by Deadline. However, with this new casting announcement for What the Dead Know, his part in Mayfair Witches is assumed likely to be a one-year deal. Huisman is represented by Authentic Talent, Conway van Gelder Grant, Peikoff Mahan, and UTA.