Neil Patrick Harris To Star In Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Neil Patrick Harris will star in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The former How I Met Your Mother star will play Count Olaf, the role Jim Carrey portrayed in the 2004 film directed by Brad Silberling and produced by Barry Sonnenfeld — who will be directing the new Netflix series as well.

While Harris’ addition to the cast is a huge positive there was some bad news to go with the report. True Blood‘s Mark Hudis is no longer the show’s showrunner. “A replacement has yet to be named,” reports THR. “Netflix declined comment.”

Based on Lemony Snicket’s series of children’s novels – which have sold more than 65 million copies since debuting in 1999 – A Series of Unfortunate Events follows three orphans left in the care of the treacherous Count Olaf. The children search for the truth about their parents’ deaths, while Olaf seeks out ways to claim their fortune for himself.

A Series of Unfortunate Events received a 13-episode straight-to-series order in November 2014. No date is set for its premiere.