Question: Who wrote the novel that is the basis for the NBC TV series that Michael Pitt plays a role in? 

Context paragraphs:
Scoey Mitchell: Scoey Mitchell (born March 12, 1930) is an American actor, writer and TV director known for frequent appearances on game shows, including "Match Game" and "Tattletales".  He starred in the short-lived series "Barefoot in the Park" (based on the Neil Simon play), and had a recurring role on "Rhoda".  Occasionally his last name is billed as "Mitchlll".  He also created two short lived NBC TV series, "Me and Mrs. C" and "13 East".  He appeared as Richard Pryor's father in the film "Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling".

The Blue Knight (film): The Blue Knight is a 1973 made-for-TV film based on Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 novel "The Blue Knight".  It gave rise to the 1975 TV series also named "The Blue Knight".  It ran originally on NBC TV in November 1973, was directed by Robert Butler, and starred an all star cast headed by William Holden as Police Officer Bumper Morgan.  The additional cast includes Lee Remick, Anne Archer, Sam Elliott, Joe Santos, and Vic Tayback.  The film was a four-hour series.

Jimmy Darmody: James Edison Darmody is a fictional character in the television show "Boardwalk Empire", played by Michael Pitt.  He is one of the main characters in the first two seasons of the series.  Unlike most of the other main characters in the series, Jimmy is not based on any historical figure, being entirely a fictional creation of the writers.  Pitt is also the only actor besides Steve Buscemi to appear in every episode for which he is credited.

Howard Platt: Howard Platt (born June 5, 1938) is an American stage and television actor, singer and director, best known for his role as "Officer Hopkins", or "Hoppy" in the NBC TV series "Sanford and Son" from 1972 to 1976.  Platt, a veteran of nearly four decades, has appeared in at least 100 plays assuming the roles of everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Santa Claus to Frank McCourt and brother, Malachy.

Josh Stewart: Joshua Regnall Stewart (born February 6, 1977) is an American actor best known for his role as Holt McLaren in the FX TV series "Dirt" and as Detective William LaMontagne, Jr., in "Criminal Minds".  He was also cast as Brendan Finney in the final season of the NBC TV series "Third Watch" and as Barsad in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises".

Brian Siewert: Brian D. Siewert, alternatively credited with or without his middle initial, is an American public speaker, multiple Emmy-Award winning concert and television composer, producer, musician, arranger and visual artist.  He has worked on "The Guiding Light - CBS" (1996–2009) as Principal Composer/Songwriter, "As the World Turns - CBS" (1995-2010) as Principal Composer/Songwriter and Supervising Music Producer, "General Hospital" - ABC (TV Series), "The Oprah Winfrey Show (TV series)", "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (2003), "Another World (TV series) - NBC" (1995-1999),"The Tyra Banks Show" Syndicated, "The Dr. Oz Show" Syndicated, "Sunset Beach (TV series) - NBC" (1997-1998), "eXtra (TV series) - Syndicated", "Access Hollywood (TV series) - Syndicated", "Street Smarts", "elimiDATE", "Celebrity Justice", "The Sharon Osbourne Show", and "The Real Gilligan's Island".  Siewert is the recipient of both ASCAP and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) Awards for his work in Film/TV Music.

James Sikking: James Barrie Sikking (born March 5, 1934), credited as James or James B. Sikking, is an American actor known for his role as Lt. Howard Hunter on the 1980s NBC TV series "Hill Street Blues".  He also starred on the ABC TV series "Doogie Howser, M.D." as Dr. David Howser and on the short-lived 1997 CBS drama series "Brooklyn South" as Captain Stan Jonas.  All three series were co-created by Steven Bochco.  Sikking did the voice of General Gordon on the short-lived 1998 cartoon series "Invasion America".

Mason Verger: Mason Verger is a fictional character that appears in Thomas Harris' 1999 novel "Hannibal", as well as its 2001 film adaptation and the second and third season of the TV series "Hannibal".  In the film, he is portrayed by Gary Oldman, while in the TV series he is portrayed by Michael Pitt and Joe Anderson.

Brett C. Leonard: Brett C. Leonard is an American dramatist, screenwriter and producer.  A member of the LAByrinth Theater Company of New York City, he is best known for his tragic drama "The Long Red Road" which was performed at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago under Philip Seymour Hoffman as director, starring Tom Hardy, and for his play "Guinea Pig Solo", originally produced as a co-production between LAByrinth and NY's Public Theater, starring John Ortiz.  Leonard also wrote and produced for the HBO TV series "Hung" (2011). , wrote and served as a Supervising Producer for the AMC series "Low Winter Sun", was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on Amazon's "Mad Dogs," a Consulting Producer on AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead" and Creative Consultant on BBC/FX drama "Taboo."  Also of note are his plays "Ninth and Joanie" directed by Mark Wing-Davey, produced in New York City by LAByrinth Theater Company, "Roger and Vanessa", produced at Theatre 503 in London, The Actors' Gang in Los Angeles and Tap Gallery in Sydney and "Unconditional", produced by LAByrinth at NYC's Public Theater, directed by Mark Wing-Davey and published in "New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2008".  His low-budget film "Jailbait", based on his play, starred Michael Pitt and Stephen Adly Guirgis, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, won Best Narrative Feature at Lake Placid Film Festival and was released theatrically in 2005.

Michael Pitt: Michael Carmen Pitt (born April 10, 1981) is an American actor, model and musician.  Pitt is known in film for his roles in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" (2003), Gus Van Sant's "Last Days" (2005), Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" (2007) and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" (2004), and in television for his roles as Henry Parker in the teen drama "Dawson's Creek", Jimmy Darmody in the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire" and Mason Verger in the NBC series "Hannibal".  He has also appeared in the films "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (2001), "Bully" (2001), "Silk" (2007), "Seven Psychopaths" (2012) and "I Origins" (2014).  His most recent appearance is in the film "Ghost in the Shell" (2017).

Supporting paragraphs: Michael Pitt Mason Verger
Answer: Thomas Harris