James Bond star Daniel Craig headed to Showtime next year

Showtime announced today that Daniel Craig, who has come under heavy speculation recently over his future involvement in the James Bond franchise, will serve as executive producer and star in an adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's popular book, Purity.

The show is set to air 20 episodes over the course of two seasons (10 episodes per season). Production on the new series will begin sometime in 2017, although Showtime CEO David Nevins didn't say when it would premiere.

Purity tells the story of multiple people whose lives intersect at different points in their lives. There's the titular college graduate in Oakland, a man in East Germany and an investigative journalist in Denver. Although the three seemingly have nothing in common, their lives become entangled with one another as dark secrets are revealed.

Craig's role isn't mentioned in the press release, but it's safe to assume that he'll be playing Andreas Wolfe, the renegade poet-turned-cult-leader in East Germany. With production set to begin early next year, Craig's involvement with the next Bond movie has been questioned yet again. The actor said before that he thought he was finished with the franchise, but has changed his answer multiple times in different interviews.

The series will also have iconic producer Scott Rudin (Ex Machina, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and playwright David Hare on board to help out. More information about Craig's involvement in the show and when audiences can expect to see it should be revealed as it gets closer to production time.