Deadline has reported that investigative journalist Julie K. Brown’s New York Times Bestseller Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story is currently in the works with Golden Globe, Emmy and Oscar winning actress Laura Dern (Jurassic Park, Wild) projected to executive produce and star. No title to reveal yet, but the project will be a Sony Pictures Television limited series produced by Adam McKay’s (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Vice) Hyperobject Industries.
The limited series based on the book, via Deadline, is described as “an explosive account of an investigative reporter exposing the secret plea deal between Epstein and federal prosecutors. Drawing from Brown’s experience as a groundbreaking reporter for the Miami Herald, the book and the limited series follow her relentless years-long investigation that identified 80 victims, persuaded key survivors to go on the record, and led to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s arrests.”
Brown is best known for her work investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her published 2018 report on his crimes. Working as an investigative reporter with The Miami Herald, Brown uncovered 80 potential victims and documented the stories of eight individuals – among the 80, some were as young as 13 and 14 when the abuse occurred. Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story accounts for the hidden 2008 deal in which Epstein had been allowed to plead guilty to two state-level prostitution offenses. For her investigation, from Deadline, she was awarded honors including two George Polk Awards for Justice Reporting and was included in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2020.
Listed by Deadline, the project’s scriptwriter Sharon Hoffman (Mrs. America, House of Cards) will work with Eileen Myers (Big Love, Dark Blue) as co-showrunners and executive producers. Also credited as EPs are Kevin Messick (Don’t Look Up, Jack Reacher), McKay, Dern, and author Brown.
The partially released Epstein Files and further fallout from the investigation has continued to affect the arts and entertainment industry – mxdwn has previously reported on actress Natalie Dormer’s (The Forest, Rush) stance against promoting her project The Lady when Epstein’s connections with the Duchess of York were revealed. She donated her entire salary from the project to the National Association for People Abused in Childhood and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.