He hung up his Hedwig crown and creeped us out in Gone Girl. Now, Neil Patrick Harris is ready to take on a children’s novel adaptation for Netflix. The actor is currently in negotiations to star in the small-screen Lemony Snicket tale A Series of Unfortunate Events, about the Baudelaire orphans and their villainous relative Count Olaf.
Jim Carrey played the part in the 2004 film by Brad Silberling, but Harris would take over the role. The first movie did well enough, and Harris can certainly channel the manic energy needed for the Count, but a scaled-down version for the streaming service may not have the necessary gothic grandeur. Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, is executive producing the movie with Netflix — but the latest showrunner, Mark Hudis, just departed the production (with no replacement tapped just yet).
This would mark Harris’ return to the small screen after wrapping nine seasons in How I Met Your Mother for CBS. His variety show Best Time Ever, which debuted last fall, was cancelled due to low ratings.