Apple taps Steven Lightfoot as showrunner for ‘Shantaram’ series

Los Angeles: Apple has roped in British writer Steven Lightfoot to showrun its upcoming series “Shantaram.”

Based on Gregory David Roberts’ bestselling India-set novel of the same name, the show will feature Charlie Hunnam in the lead, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Lightfoot, who has worked on shows such as “Hannibal” and “Punisher,” has also signed a multi-year overall deal with Apple. He replaces “American Hustle” scribe Eric Warren Singer on the series.

The project, which hails from Anonymous Content and Paramount Television, will also feature actors Radhika Apte and Richard Roxburgh in series regular roles.

The story follows Lin (Hunnam), a man on the run from an Australian prison looking to get lost in the teeming city of Bombay. Cut off from family and friends by distance and fate, he finds a new life in the slums, bars and underworld of India.

Apte will portray Kavita, a driven Indian journalist looking for answers, while Roxburgh will essay the role of Detective Sergeant Marty Nightingalem, who works for the Australian Federal Police and is part of a small, elite unit trained for the pursuit and capture of escaped convicts.

Lightfoot will also executive produce the show along with Dave Erickson, Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin, Paramount TV president Nicole Clemens, Andrea Barron and Richard Sharkey.