The high-stakes financial thriller series The Fear Index, based on the bestselling novel by Robert Harris, is coming to Sky Atlantic, with Penny Dreadful star Josh Hartnett in the cast. He stars as an American physicist who creates an AI-based system that exploits fear in financial markets and operates at lightning speed to make huge profits. But things starts to spiral out of control on launch day…
Here’s everything you need to know about the Fear Index on Sky Atlantic.
The Fear Index Release Date
The Fear Index is a four-episode series airing in the UK on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW from Thursday February 10 at 9pm. It can also be watched as a box set from the same air date on Sky Box Sets.
The Fear Index Plot Story
The Fear Index begins in Geneva’s financial district where Dr. Alex Hoffman launches an AI-based system that exploits fear in financial markets, promising to make billions. But Alex’s sanity is shaken when he is viciously attacked by a man who knows all his security codes. After more unexplained events, Alex becomes convinced that he was framed. But when a secret emerges from his past, will anyone believe that he hasn’t just lost his mind? What follows is a terrifying journey through the worst 24 hours of Alex’s life as he is forced to question everything he thinks he knows, while also realizing how damaging his AI-driven creation might be…
The Fear Index Cast: Who’s In It?
Josh Hartnett stars as tech genius Dr. Alex Hoffman, who had nightmares upon waking up in the worst 24 hours of his life. He first found TV fame as Michael Fitzgerald in the 1990s US version of the British crime drama Cracker but is best known on the small screen for starring as Ethan Chandler in the horror series Penny Dreadful. He also starred in many well-known films, including The Black Dahlia, Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down.
Arsher Ali (The Ritual, Informer) will play Hugo, Alex’s hedge fund business partner and best friend. Meanwhile, Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie, Innocent) is his talented artist wife Gabby, and Grégory Montel (Call My Agent) is Detective Leclerc, assigned to Alex’s intriguing case.
About ‘The Fear Index’ author Robert Harris
Former journalist and writer Robert Harris wrote The Fear Index in 2012. His debut novel, however, is Homeland. Homeland is set in a world where the Nazis had won the Second World War. It was an instant hit when it was published in 1992 and has since been made into a film.
His second novel Enigma was made into a film starring Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet and Tom Hollander and his 1998 book Archangel was made into a BBC miniseries with James Bond star Daniel Craig playing the main character Professor Fluke Kelso searching for Joseph Stalin’s diary.
Robert Harris went on to become a prolific writer of historical fiction and his best-selling books include Pompeii, V2 and Munich, which have been made into the big-budget Netflix film Munich—The Edge of War starring Jeremy Irons and George MacKay.
Is There a Trailer for ‘The Fear Index’?
Yes a trailer for The Fear Index has been released by Sky. “Fear is driving the world like never before,” says Josh’s character, Dr Alex Hoffman, at the beginning of the high-octane trailer. And fear is certainly something that threatens to overwhelm Alex when he realises someone is out to destroy his life. There are some high-speed car chases, falls from buildings and deadly explosions in the trailer, too, which also give a taste of the action-packed Sky Atlantic series.
