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Amazon picks up Kay Scarpetta series starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis
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Amazon picks up Kay Scarpetta series starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis

Prime Video is popular again.

Amazon’s streamer has given the green light Scarlet Reda crime drama based on author Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling series about Virginia coroner Kay Scarpetta. The series, which has been in the works for over a year, has received a two-season order from Prime Video; Nicole Kidman will play the title role, starring opposite Jamie Lee Curtis. Kidman and Curtis will also serve as executive producers.

In addition to Kidman and Curtis, the show has assembled an A-list cast including Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, Ariana DeBose, Rosy McEwen and Jake Cannavale.

Blumhouse Television, which acquired the rights to Cornwell’s novels along with Curtis in 2021, is producing the series 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 — will direct the first two episodes.

“I wanted Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta to a screen, with my company, Comet Pictures, for a while,” Curtis said in a statement. “I am especially excited that Nicole Kidman will finally bring her to life. I also look forward to playing Nicole’s sister as we tell the story with Liz Sarnoff’s expert care, leadership, skill and talent, and I am thrilled to work with David once again as our director. I know that the ardent fans of the books will be thrilled, and new audiences will be drawn to the characters, crimes and mysteries that make up the trifecta of Patricia’s masterful storytelling. Blumhouse, Blossom and Prime Video are the perfect partners to bring Scarlet Red for you, and a warning……..there WILL be blood.”

Vernon Sanders, Head of Television at Amazon MGM Studios, added: “Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta has thrilled fans for decades and I am honored that Prime Video has been tasked with bringing the series to the 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 world-class team at Blumhouse.”

Kidman’s Kay Scarpetta is a chief coroner returning to her old post in Virginia, handling both gruesome cases and complicated relationships in her professional and personal life. Curtis, who just won an Emmy for her guest role in The Bearwill 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 so excited that this is finally happening,” Cornwell said. “This is going to be so much fun for everyone and I’m so grateful for the immense talent that the show is attracting. I’ve always been a huge fan of Jamie Lee Curtis and Nicole Kidman. That they want to do this is humbling and just amazing. Working with the brilliant Liz Sarnoff is amazing. Blumhouse and Prime Video are a dream. This was worth the wait and I’m so excited for the show.”

Kidman said: “I’ve been pursuing it Scarlet Red “Going back almost 20 years to when it was intended to be a feature film, so to be working with the formidable Jamie Lee Curtis, Prime Video, Jason Blum and David Gordon Green on the Liz Sarnoff series adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s epic and suspenseful books feels like it was meant to be. I can’t wait to inhabit Kay Scarpetta and am so grateful to Patricia Cornwell for trusting me with her.”

Showrunner Sarnoff added: “I have Patricia Cornwell’s Scarlet Red books with my mom 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 stories. I couldn’t be more grateful and excited to bring these stories to life on screen.”

Sarnoff, Kidman, Curtis and Cornwell are executive producers Scarlet Red starring Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Chris Dickie and Chris McCumber of Blumhouse TV; Per Saari of Blossom Films; and Green and Amy Sayres.

Scarlet Red is one of several Prime Video series based on best-selling books, joining series like Reachthe coming Crotchthe Bosch franchise, Jack Ryan And The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.