According to the official press release, Prime Video and Emmy-nominated writer and executive producer, Liz Sarnoff (Barry, Happy!), have adapted Patricia Cornwell’s (Blow Fly, Dust) best-selling novel, Scarpetta, into a new crime thriller TV show. The series takes place from the late 1990s to the present day. The series released first-look photos below.
The Prime Video press release notes that award-winning actress Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies, Holland) will portray Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Dr. Scarpetta is a chief medical examiner who goes back to her hometown while investigating a murder. Jamie Lee Curtis (My Girl, Trading Places), Ariana DeBose (Tow, Love Hurts), Bobby Cannavale (Trap House, Platonic), and Simon Baker (Ten Pounds Poms, Limbo) have also been cast in the new Prime TV series. In addition, Rosy McEwen (Black Mirror, Rabbit Trap), Amanda Righetti (Reagan, Far Haven), Jake Cannavale (Deal, The Reunion), and Hunter Parrish (Ratched, Jane the Novela) have been cast to play the younger versions of the characters.
The press release also stated that the longline for Scarpetta is, “With skilled hands and an unnerving eye, unrelenting medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is determined to serve as the voice of the victims, unmask a serial killer and prove that her career-making case from 28 years prior isn’t also her undoing. Set against the backdrop of modern forensic investigation, the series delves beyond the crime scene to explore the psychological complexities of both perpetrators and investigators, creating a multi-layering thriller that examines the toll of pursuing justice, she must navigate complicated relationships, including the fraught dynamic with her sister Dorthy Farinelli (Curtis), confront long-held professional and personal grudges, and face secrets that threaten to unravel everything she’s built.”
Curtis’s Comet Pictures and Blumhouse Television became attached to the project back in 2021, according to previous mxdwn reports. Kidman’s cast was announced in September of last year. Scarpetta will premiere on Prime Video on March 11, 2026.