Californication is thoroughly behind us, with The X-Files returning in a limited series before long, but David Duchovny fans needn’t wait long to see the actor on the case again. NBC’s first trailer for summer series Aquarius pits the former Fox Mulder against Renly Baratheon, er … Charles Manson at the height of hippie hedonism.

Set to premiere the first of 13 episodes on May 28 and shepherded by John McNamara of In Plain Sight and Prison Break alum Marty Adelstein, so reads the full synopsis for NBC’s Aquarius:

Los Angeles. 1967.

Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny, “Californication,” “The X-Files”), a decorated World War II vet and homicide detective, barely recognizes the city he’s now policing. Long hair, cheap drugs, rising crime, protests, free love, police brutality, Black Power and the Vietnam War are radically remaking the world he and the Greatest Generation saved from fascism 20 years ago.

So when Emma Karn (Emma Dumont, “Salvation,” “Bunheads”), the 16-year-old daughter of an old girlfriend, goes missing in a sea of hippies and Hodiak agrees to find her, he faces only hostility, distrust and silence. He enlists the help of Brian Shafe (Grey Damon, “True Blood,” “Friday Night Lights”) - a young, idealistic undercover vice cop who’s been allowed to grow his hair out - to infiltrate this new counterculture and find her.

The generational conflict between the two is immediate and heated, yet they’re both dedicated officers and soon realize the need to bring Emma home is more urgent than they foresaw. The immediacy arises because she has joined a small but growing band of drifters under the sway of a career criminal who now dreams of being a rock star: Charles Manson (Gethin Anthony, “Game of Thrones“).

Ringing with the unparalleled music of the era, “Aquarius” is a sprawling work of historical fiction that begins two years before the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. It’s a shocking thriller, a nuanced character drama and, in the end, the story of how we became who we are today.

We’ll say this, it’s at least a few cuts above NBC’s latest crop of revivals, and who knows, maybe we’ll finally get that Mad Men crossover we’ve always dreamed of with Sharon Tate! You can watch the trailer for David Duchovny’s Aquarius above, and catch the two-hour premiere on May 28.

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