'The Rook' Trailer: A Spy Discovers A Supernatural Ability In The Starz Thriller Series

One superhero franchise about caches of humans with special abilities may be fizzling out this week, but Starz is introducing a new supernatural spy thriller series that could replace that X-shaped hole in our hearts. The Rook, based on Daniel O'Malley's novel of the same name, follows an amnesiac woman who slowly discovers that she may have a connection to a mysterous secret service that fends off threats that are a little paranormal. Watch The Rook trailer below.

Superpowers and espionage collide in The Rook, which stars Shameless' Emma Greenwell as Myfanwy Thomas, a woman who wakes up in London with no memory of her identity. But soon she finds herself pursued by men who want to use her for her paranormal abilities, all the while discovering her ties to a British secret service for people like her. Though the premise of humans who have evolved to have abilities make it seem like an X-Men knock-off, The Rook seems to have more common ground with supernatural dramas like Stranger Things or Fringe. The espionage angle is intriguing as well, and could offer the grim and mature antidote to superhero titles that audiences are looking for.

Showrun by Lisa Zwerling (Betrayal), Karyn Usher (Bones), and Stephen Garrett of The Night Manager fame, The Rook also stars Olivia Munn (never far from the superhero genre), Adrian Lester, Ronan Rafter, Catherine Steadman, Jon Fletcher, Shelley Conn, and James D'Arcy.

O'Malley's book was a major hit when it was released in 2012, winning the 2012 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and spawning a sequel released in 2016. If all goes well with this Starz series, it could very well continue for several seasons and follow the events of O'Malley's sequel Stiletto.

Here is the synopsis for The Rook:

The Rook tells the story of Myfanwy Thomas, a woman who wakes up in London with no memory of who she is and no explanation for the circle of dead bodies around her. When Myfanwy discovers she's a high ranking official in Britain's secret service for people with paranormal abilities, she'll have to navigate the dangerous and complex world of the agency to uncover who wiped her memory and why.

The Rook will premiere on Sunday, June 30, 2019 on Starz.