Comic book shows are everywhere, and networks are thankfully interested in balancing the expected superhero series with adaptations of works in other genres. FX and Fargo creator Noah Hawley are tapping into both worlds with Legion, a psychological drama with major ties to the X-Men universe, and the show has just found its newest cast member in on-the-rise actor Jeremie Harris.
Legion stars Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens as David Haller, the comic book son of X-Men leader Professor Charles Xavier and Holocaust survivor Gabrielle Haller. David is not a normal guy by any stretch, and he’s suffered with a distinct mental illness since he was a teenager, but after years and years of psychiatric hospital stays and treatments, he’s starting to think that there’s more to his schizophrenia than just broken synapses. He encounters another patient in a weird way, and then has to accept the possibility that the voices and visions he’s been experiencing might be real. He is the Eggman. He is the Walrus.
Jeremie Harris is entering the show as Ptonomy, who is described by THR as an outsider that doesn’t mix well with others, perhaps due to the fact that he’s a former child prodigy whose past was apparently troublesome and memorable enough that he remains mentally stuck in it all these years later. It’s unclear if this is going to be the patient that gets David going on his way to taking on the titular title, or if he’s just one of many that will cross the lead character’s path.
Harris is not only the newest cast member, but he’s also the least recognizable of the bunch. Besides Stevens, Legion will also star Parks and Recreation alum Aubrey Plaza, who will play an optimistic friend of David’s named Lenny. The always great Jean Smart will reteam with Hawley for this project as a therapist named Melanie who is up for taking chances in her field in order to get results. And then Smart’s Fargo Season 2 co-star Rachel Keller was cast as a woman named Syd who believes in fantastical things.
This show may come from the world of the X-Men, but we shouldn’t look forward to seeing a ton of comic cameos, as the rights to major characters are held for the theatrical side of things. But that doesn’t mean Legion won’t be something special anyway, as Noah Hawley has quickly proven himself to be one of TV’s standout storytellers in the past couple of years, and it’ll be great to see how he handles visions and voices and madness.
Though Jeremie Harris doesn’t have a mile-long resume, Legion could catapult him to instant stardom. He’s appeared in episodes of Person of Interest and Blue Bloods, and also starred in the HBO movie Bessie as Langston Hughes and in the feature The Angriest Man in Brooklyn. You’ll be able to see him next in a recurring role in Baz Luhrmann’s Netflix series The Get Down.
There’s no telling when Legion will make its way to audiences, but we hope it gets here by the time the fall rolls around.
