Amber Tamblyn Signs on to Star in 'Anatomy of Violence'

Newlywed Amber Tamblyn is returning to the network that made her a public figure a decade ago with “Joan of Arcadia.”

CBS will be bringing her back for a new series, based on the nonfiction book The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime, written by Adrian Raine.

Titled “The Anatomy of Violence,” Tambyln will be playing “fresh-faced FBI agent” Abby, who joins the Bureau with the memory of seeing her sister traumatized by a gunman thirteen years ago her driving motivation.

Tambyln will appear alongside Skeet Ulrich, who will play a “radical criminal psychiatrist at the agency” focusing on sociopaths, and “with whom she shares a conflicted past.”

The show will be written by “Homeland” staples Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa, and Alex Cary. If the show can achieve a reasonable percentage of “Homeland” success, the network can plan on having a hit.

It will be Tamblyn’s first television series since she appeared in a season-long guest arc on “House.”

While little else is known about the show at this time, the book has garnered massive praise, as well as controversy.

“Is bad biology partly to blame? For more than three decades Adrian Raine has been researching the biological roots of violence and establishing neurocriminology, a new field that applies neuroscience techniques to investigate the causes and cures of crime,” reads the description.

“Arguing that biology is not destiny, he also sketches out provocative new biosocial treatment approaches that can change the brain and prevent violence…. Raine tackles the thorny legal and ethical dilemmas posed by his research, visualizing a futuristic brave new world where our increasing ability to identify violent offenders early in life might shape crime-prevention policies, for good and bad.”

Interesting concept. Will it translate to television?