Alan Cumming, most recently on Broadway in his second stint as the Emcee of Cabaret, will star in a new series for CBS, according to Deadline.com. The TV network is developing a series for the Tony-winning actor, based on James Patterson and Howard Roughan’s upcoming book, Dr. Death. Patterson will executive produce with Michael Rauch and Alex Kurtzman.

Featuring a script by Patterson, the new series, according to the industry website, “centers on a former CIA operative (Cumming) who has since built a ’normal’ life as a gifted professor and writer but is pulled back into his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer on the loose.”

Patterson told Deadline.com, “It’s great to imagine Alan in the role — there aren’t many stars who can convincingly play drama and comedy with effortless wit, not to mention a musical savant and crime-solving genius.”

No timetable has been announced for Dr. Death, although the book upon which the series is based will be released in 2017 by Little, Brown & Co.

Cumming is a three-time Emmy nominee for his work in the long-running CBS series The Good Wife.