Hulu is not continuing with The Devil in the White City

The devil was in the details, apparently: Hulu has decided not to continue with The Devil in the White City. The highly anticipated limited series would tell the story of Daniel H. Burnham, a demanding yet visionary architect who races to make his mark on history with the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, and Dr. H. Holmes, America's first modern serial killer and the man behind the infamous 'Murder Castle' that was built in the shadow of the Stock Exchange.

Hulu has decided not to move ahead with ‘Devil In The White City.’ ABC Signature remains committed to the project and hopes to find a new home https://t.co/2vpcZ1Gb4G

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 7, 2023

Keanu Reeves was originally attached to play the lead role but only stepped out in October. Director Todd Field left soon after. Attempts were made to replace them, with offers that ultimately came to nothing.

The eight-episode series was set to launch in 2024, but production wasn't set to begin until this year. From ABC Signature in association with Paramount Television Studios, Devil would be produced by Martin Scorsese, Rick Yorn, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, Stacey Sher, Sam Shaw, Lila Byock and Mark Lafferty.

ABC Signature remains committed to the project and hopes to find a new home.



The project has been in various stages of development since DiCaprio bought the movie rights to the book from Erik Larson (pictured) in 2010 and previously pitched it as a feature film at Paramount with Scorsese to direct. In 2019, Hulu announced it was developing the project as a big-budget series with DiCaprio and Scorsese serving as executive producers.