A Series of Unfortunate Events: Meet Neil Patrick Harris As Count Olaf

This time last year, Neil Patrick Harris’ variety show “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris” was cancelled after just one season. But now, the actor and entertainer, best known for his starring roles as the title character in “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and Barney Stinson in “How I Met Your Mother,” will soon return to TV as the evil Count Olaf in Netflix’s new series “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” based on the popular and acclaimed children’s book series by Lemony Snicket (the pen name of Daniel Handler). Watch a teaser for the series below featuring a first look at Olaf.

“A Series of Unfortunate Events” follows the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents’ death in a fire. The children are placed in the custody of a murderous relative, Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance and, later, orchestrates numerous disasters as the children attempt to flee his clutches. There were 13 novels in the original run, published between 1999 and 2006, and has produced a 2004 film starring Jim Carrey as Olaf.

The new series will be directed by Barry Sonnenfeld (“Men in Black”), written by Handler, and co-star Patrick Warburton (“The Tick”), Joan Cusack (“Working Girl”), Aasif Mandvi (“The Daily Show”) and more.

All eight episodes of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” will be released on January 13, 2017 on Netflix.