Kay Scarpetta Series Starring Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis a Go at Amazon
Prime Video is hitting the books once again.
The Amazon-owned streamer has greenlit Scarpetta, a crime drama based on author Patricia Cornwell’s best-selling series of novels about Virginia medical examiner Kay Scarpetta. The series, in the works for more than a year, landed a two-season order at Prime Video; Nicole Kidman will play the title character and star opposite Jamie Lee Curtis. Kidman and Curtis will also be executive producers.
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In addition to Kidman and Curtis, the show has lined up an A-list cast that includes Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, Ariana DeBose, Rosy McEwen and Jake Cannavale.
Blumhouse Television, which along with Curtis acquired rights to Cornwell’s novels in 2021, is producing the series along with Amazon MGM Studios, Kidman’s Blossom Films and Curtis’ Comet Pictures. Liz Sarnoff (Barry, Lost, Deadwood) is adapting the novels and will serve as showrunner. David Gordon Green — who directed Curtis in the last three Halloween films — is set to helm the first two episodes.
“I have wanted to bring Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta to a screen, with my company, Comet Pictures, for a while,” Curtis said in a statement. “I’m particularly excited that Nicole Kidman will finally bring her to life. I’m also looking forward to playing Nicole’s sister as we tell the story with Liz Sarnoff’s expert care, leadership, skill, and talent, and I am excited to work again with David as our director. I know the ardent fans of the books will be very happy, and the new audience will be compelled by the characters, crimes, and mysteries that are the trifecta of Patricia’s masterful storytelling. Blumhouse, Blossom, and Prime Video are the perfect partners to bring Scarpetta to you, and a warning……..there WILL be blood.”
Added Vernon Sanders, head of television at Amazon MGM Studios, “Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta has enraptured fans for decades and I am honored that Prime Video is entrusted to bring the series to screen for our global customers. The most exemplary group has been assembled for the series with Liz Sarnoff at the helm with an extraordinary vision; the immensely talented Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, and the fantastic cast; and the top-notch team at Blumhouse.”
Kidman’s Kay Scarpetta is a chief medical examiner who returns to her former position in Virginia and deals with both gruesome cases and complicated relationships in her work and personal lives. Curtis, coming off an Emmy win for her guest role on The Bear, will play Kay’s sister, Dorothy. Cannavale — who co-starred with Kidman in Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers — plays Detective Pete Marino. Baker (The Mentalist) will play FBI profiler Benton Wesley. Oscar winner DeBose (West Side Story, Wish) will play Lucy Farinelli-Watson, Dorothy’s daughter. McEwen and Jake Cannavale will play younger versions of Kay and Pete.
“I’m beyond excited that this is finally happening,” said Cornwell. “This will be great fun for all, and I’m grateful for the immense talent that the show is drawing. I’ve always been a huge fan of Jamie Lee Curtis and Nicole Kidman. Their wanting to do this is humbling and simply awesome. Working with the brilliant Liz Sarnoff is amazing. Blumhouse and Prime Video are a dream. This has been worth waiting for, and I’m so looking forward to the show.”
Said Kidman, ”I’ve been pursuing Scarpetta for nearly 20 years going back to when it was intended to be a feature, so to unite with the formidable Jamie Lee Curtis, Prime Video, Jason Blum and David Gordon Green on the Liz Sarnoff series version of Patricia Cornwell’s epic and thrilling books feels like it was meant to be. I cannot wait to inhabit Kay Scarpetta and am so thankful to Patricia Cornwell for entrusting me with her.”
Showrunner Sarnoff added, “I read Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta books with my mother when they came out in the ’90s. We loved having a badass female ‘boss’ heroine to root for and were amazed by the specificity, complexity, and sheer addictiveness of Patricia’s storytelling. I could not be more grateful and excited to be bringing these stories to life on the screen.”
Sarnoff, Kidman, Curtis and Cornwell executive produce Scarpetta with Blumhouse TV’s Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Chris Dickie and Chris McCumber; Per Saari of Blossom Films; and Green and Amy Sayres.
Scarpetta is one of a number of Prime Video series based on best-selling novels, joining the likes of Reacher, the upcoming Cross, the Bosch franchise, Jack Ryan and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
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