Emily Deschanel to Star in NBC’s Criminal Profiler Drama

NBC has found the lead actress for its drama pilot about a criminal profiler.

Former Bones star Emily Deschanel will play the role in the show, which is based on the life and work of profiler and author Dr. Ann Burgess. The pilot comes from writers Dean Georgaris (the 2022 Quantum Leap, The Meg) and John Fox (The Blacklist) and Universal Television.

Deschanel joins her former Bones co-star David Boreanaz, who will play the lead in a Rockford Files reboot, in toplining an NBC pilot this season. Earlier Tuesday, the network announced Damon Wayans Jr. will star in another drama pilot, Puzzled.

The logline for currently untitled profiler pilot reads, “Professor Georgia Ryan (Deschanel) is a trailblazing psychologist who challenges the field of criminology by shifting the investigative focus to the victim rather than just the perpetrator in order to uncover the crucial clues that more traditional methods leave behind. Alongside her team,…