The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey has a new home. According to Deadline, the limited series, which starred Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen, has been picked up by Netflix with a winter release date. This release date is likely due to the upcoming anniversary of the six-year-old beauty queen’s murder, which occurred on Christmas Day in 1996.
The show is being co-written by Harrison Querey and Tommy Wallach, directed by Anne Sewitsky, and showrun by Richard LaGravenese. In the show, McCarthy and Owen play JonBenét’s parents, Patsy and John Bennet Ramsey. The show is about the infamous murder case, which is told through the eyes of JonBenét’s parents, investigators, and the media.
The project, which was first commissioned by the previous Paramount regime, was pitched by Querey (Who was in the same kindergarten class as JonBenét) and Wallach. The project was sold to 101 Studios and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, where the company was based at the time. By March 2024, the show had been greenlit, and casting had begun.
In September 2024, the show was picked up by Paramount+, and filming had begun. When filming had wrapped in January 2025, McCarthy presented the working title at the Golden Globes: Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey.
After Paramount Global acquired Skydance Global in August 2025, The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey went under review by the new leadership at Paramount+. After a cut of the series was screened, the company decided not to go forward with the show.
Though the exact reason for the cancellation has not been cited, it is believed by many to be because of the legal issues Paramount has encountered with releasing series on this topic in the past. In 2016, the Paramount division of CBS was sued for $750 million by JonBenét Ramsey’s brother for accusing him of being JonBenét’s killer in The Case Of: JonBenét Ramsey.
With this lawsuit in their past, Paramount hosting the limited series poses more of a risk than other companies. John Ramsey told Daily Mail in January that if the new limited series portrays Burke as a suspect in his sister’s death, the family, which was not involved in the project, would again seek legal action.
After Paramount+ decided not to proceed with the series, 101 Studios took the series and began looking for other streaming services. With 101 Studios being a part of NBCUniversal, many assumed the show would go to the NBCU streamer Peacock. When that prediction did not work out, the next likely competitor was Netflix.
Netflix had established itself as a true-crime mainstay, with them having many docuseries on true-crime cases. One of these shows is Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, which was released in November 2024, drawing in 13.4 million views in its premiere week.
Netflix also has scripted true-crime limited series, most notable of all of them, the hit Monster anthology franchise.
After months of negotiation, the show was picked up by Netflix for an exclusive release on the platform. An exact release date has not been announced.
Below is the entire ensemble of The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey:
Cast:
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat) as Patsy Ramsey
Clive Owen (Children of Men, King Arthur) as John Ramsey
Emily Mitchell (Ordinary Angels, Out of my Mind) as JonBenét Ramsey
Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy, Tulsa King) as Det. Steve Thomas
Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Trap) as Det. Linda Arndt
Shea Whigham (Death by Lightning, American Primeveal) as Alex Hunter
Owen Teague (It, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) as Shane Edwards
Clifton Collins Jr. (Train Dreams, Jockey) as Det. Tom Trujillo
Angus Caldwell (Burke and Hare, Never Goin’ Back) as Burke Ramsey
Jaime Ray Newman (Eureka, Bates Motel) as Amelia Hunt
Recurring:
Rory Cochrane (Dazed and Confused, Black Mass) as John Eller
Chris Bauer (The Wire, True Blood) as Chief Tom Koby
Will Patton (Remember the Titans, Yellowstone) as Lou Smit
Jeremy Bobb (Russian Doll, The Knick) as Pete Hofstrom
John Billingsley (Star Trek: Enterprise, 2012) as Santa Bill McReynolds
Josh Stamberg (Drop Dead Diva, WandaVision) as Reed Hunt
Guest:
Margo Martindale (Justified, The Americans) as Nedra Paugh
Tzi Ma (The Farewell, Rush Hour) as Dr. Henry Lee