It Took Years To Bring Kay Scarpetta From Page To The Screen. Now They Both Play Her

This article contains immoderate Season 1 spoilers for “Scarpetta.”

It’s taken galore years for Kay Scarpetta to get connected television, but pinch Prime Video’s caller series, viewers get 2 iterations of nan beloved literate character. In “Scarpetta,” premiering Wednesday, nan forensic aesculapian examiner is played by some Nicole Kidman and Rosy McEwen, who skillfully lick execution mysteries crossed 2 timelines.

“I’m conscionable proud this sewage made,” Kidman says, speaking complete Zoom alongside McEwen. “It has been a agelong clip that it has not been made. There was a logic you couldn’t make it 2 decades agone — possibly group weren’t interested, aliases we were conscionable told they were not interested. But arsenic we’ve shown complete nan people of decades now, group are willing successful women successful these very analyzable roles.”

There person been respective attempts to accommodate Patricia Cornwell’s popular bid of execution enigma novels into a movie and aggregate actors person been attached to play Scarpetta, including Demi Moore and Angelina Jolie. But it wasn’t until Jamie Lee Curtis stepped successful arsenic a shaper of this bid successful early 2021 that an adjustment yet came to fruition.

“I was willing successful nan truth that specified an important literate characteristic had ne'er been brought to a screen,” Curtis says, speaking via a sound memo. “The magnitude of stories and books disposable lent itself to a template for a TV series. I went to my [producing] partner, Jason Blum, erstwhile I recovered retired that nan authorities were available, which shocked me, and said to him that we should partner up and bargain nan authorities to her books. It was arsenic elemental arsenic that: I conscionable felt for illustration Kay Scarpetta needed to travel to nan screen.”

Nicole Kidman arsenic Kay Scarpetta. (Connie Chornuk / Prime)

Rosy McEwen arsenic younger Kay Scarpetta. (Connie Chornuk / Prime)

Curtis’ Comet Pictures and Blumhouse Television enlisted longtime TV writer Liz Sarnoff arsenic nan showrunner. Sarnoff had publication each of Cornwell’s books pinch her mom and had what she calls a “meaningful” relationship to nan series. Because location were truthful galore novels, nan first of which published successful 1990, Sarnoff wanted to find a measurement to encapsulate nan 1990s timelines from nan early books alongside nan much modern ones.

“In nan ’90s, location was nary DNA, truthful everything had a slower gait and a much methodical measurement astir it,” Sarnoff says. “Whereas now you get accelerated DNA successful a fewer minutes. I didn’t want to miss either of those 2 things. I started to deliberation nan champion measurement to do this was to do 2 timelines, 1 wherever she is starting retired successful her first really large occupation and nan different wherever she’s a spot older and she’s coming backmost to effort to correct nan wrongs of nan erstwhile time.”

That will besides let Sarnoff to accommodate 2 books per play — Season 2 is already successful production. “I felt it was important that nan show really move,” she says. “I wanted to beryllium capable to person large communicative leaps successful each episode.”

Season 1 is based connected Cornwell’s debut Scarpetta novel, “Postmortem,” and her 25th novel, 2021’s “Autopsy.” The conception meant that nan show would request aggregate actors playing Scarpetta, pinch 1 arsenic nan lead of nan series. Kidman jumped astatine nan opportunity aft reference nan pilot, coming onboard arsenic nan prima and arsenic an executive producer.

“My sister is simply a monolithic instrumentality of each nan books,” Kidman says. “She’s a large crime instrumentality and she finds it very comforting. She said, ‘There’s perfectly nary mobility you must do this role.’ And I perceive to my sister.”

McEwen, who shares an supplier pinch Kidman, joined arsenic nan younger loop of Scarpetta. “Not only do they carnivore an uncanny resemblance, but Rosy has very akin qualities to Nicole,” Sarnoff says. “She’s very porous. When you look successful her eyes, you spot everything. It’s nosy to watch them some think.”

“Not only do they carnivore an uncanny resemblance, but Rosy has very akin qualities to Nicole,” says Liz Sarnoff, nan showrunner of “Scarpetta.” “She’s very porous. When you look successful her eyes, you spot everything.”

(Larsen&Talbert / For The Times)

The actors had nan opportunity to do important investigation successful nan period starring up to accumulation successful Nashville successful October 2024. Kidman and McEwen worked pinch real-life forensic pathologist Dr. Amy Hawes to study astir nan autopsy process, arsenic good arsenic nan motivations for becoming a aesculapian examiner.

“For me, what was important was getting trained for what happens erstwhile you deed a crime scene,” Kidman says. “How do you do an autopsy? What are you looking for? Why do you take to go a aesculapian examiner?”

The investigation helped lend authenticity to their roles.

“We wanted to understand nan affectional turmoil of looking astatine dormant bodies each time and what that does to you and what you hide and past what ends up coming done nan cracks,” McEwen says. “We were by nan book. We didn’t want anyone to spot immoderate holes successful nan process [or] immoderate aesculapian examiners to watch nan show and say, ‘Oh, they’d ne'er do that.’”

When it came to nan character, Kidman felt nan state to make it her own. She said to Cornwell up of filming and says nan writer told her, “There’s thing you tin do that’s wrong. You are her.”

“That was nan astir unthinkable thing,” Kidman says. “For personification who has created a personification to say, ‘I tin only spot you now erstwhile I write.’ It was a monolithic passing of nan baton because she owned her. Patricia was Kay. For her to go, ‘I’m going to springiness her to you and she belongs to you’ was a gift.”

The first season’s crippled is complexly wrought. In nan past, Scarpetta and Det. Pete Marino (Jake Cannavale) are investigating a bid of murders that look to beryllium perpetrated by a serial killer. As Scarpetta useful tirelessly to elevate her profession successful a frustratingly male-dominated world, she besides balances a analyzable individual life that involves FBI supplier and imaginable emotion liking Benton Wesley (Hunter Parrish), and her computer-savvy niece Lucy (Savannah Lumar).

In nan present, Scarpetta and Benton, now married, return to their Virginia hometown, wherever nan execution of a young female seems to link to her earlier case. Marino (Bobby Cannavale) has joined Scarpetta’s sister Dorothy (Curtis), and nan couple, on pinch Lucy (Ariana DeBose), are surviving connected Scarpetta’s immense estate.

Cornwell publication nan scripts, but allowed Sarnoff to make nan communicative her own. One awesome alteration is really nan decease of Scarpetta’s begetter impacts her early career. In nan series, she witnesses his execution arsenic a young woman — a acold much convulsive infinitesimal than successful nan novels, wherever he dies of cancer. The communicative switch imbued nan characteristic pinch a much important motivation.

“She has nan desire to beryllium correct and to correct wrongs,” Kidman says. “And, ultimately, she makes mistakes that she wants to spell and fix. She feels a very heavy desire to activity control. It’s why she’s truthful quiet, wished and powerful. Kay is powerful, but she carries things successful an interior way.”

“Sometimes you consciousness for illustration to beryllium powerful you want to puff up and beryllium louder,” McEwen says. “But actually, arsenic I was watching Nicole, I was like, ‘No, powerfulness is quiet. Power is stillness.’ I deliberation she grows into that. I’m speedy to respond and beryllium emotional, but really having nan spot to return a 2nd to deliberation really you’re going to respond and past respond — that’s really she’s learned to make her measurement done this world.”

To hole to play Kay Scarpetta, Nicole Kidman, left, and Rosy McEwen worked a forensic pathologist, but Patricia Cornwell besides fto nan actors create nan character.

(Larsen&Talbert / For The Times)

Both timelines were filmed simultaneously. The accumulation took spot successful two-episode blocks and was chiefly chronological, pinch board David Gordon Green and Charlotte Brändström astatine nan helm. The actors watched each others’ dailies and McEwen would sometimes sneak connected group to watch Kidman successful action. Having a fewer weeks of rehearsal up of filming helped McEwen and Kidman to found nan similarities successful their performances, arsenic did activity pinch Kidman’s dialect coach.

“We’re operating successful different spheres, realms of her life, truthful it’s much about: What are nan things that you still person arsenic you’ve gotten older mannerism-wise?” Kidman says. “What are your affectional tics aliases nan things that soothe you aliases that conscionable travel pinch who you are that really ne'er change? What has changed was up to me.”

“I had small movements I could prime up connected that I was capable to return from Nicole, which was really helpful,” McEwen adds. “But astir a period in, I had to somewhat merchandise and tally pinch everything that we’d put together and spot that she was there. I couldn’t support going backmost to nan early because that’s not really you would exist. You person nary thought what is going to hap to you successful 30 years time.”

“There’s an tremendous magnitude of activity that goes into it to past go, ‘OK, now I’m free. It’s it,’” Kidman adds. “You person to beryllium incredibly studious and disciplined, and past you person to beryllium person nan expertise to beryllium emotionally free and responding successful nan infinitesimal to what’s going on.”

Sarnoff withheld nan last section from nan formed during astir of production, successful portion because she hadn’t finalized nan ending yet. By Episode 6, it became clear to Sarnoff really she wanted to reason each timeline, including what nan last changeable would entail. The closing sequence, wherever Scarpetta is chased done her location by nan murderer, was filmed connected nan last time of shooting. The uncover is wholly unexpected. “You do request to watch very cautiously for nan clues,” Kidman says. “Nothing is not important.”

“It was important to maine successful Season 1 for Kay to travel into nan coming time very ambitious, wanting to person it all,” Sarnoff explains. “And by nan extremity of it, she’s conscionable desolate. It’s a really bad scene. So I had to consider, ‘Who is nan murderer and really is it a betrayal to her?’ Patricia’s books wrap up quickly. If you do that successful a finale, it doesn’t work. People for illustration a big, melodramatic ending.”

The cliffhanger ending is jaw-droppingly intense, but location is besides an affectional fallout for Scarpetta and her family. Dorothy and Marino person moved out, Scarpetta is separated from Benton and Lucy is connected nan outs pinch her aunt.

“What’s awesome astir this is that, yes, you person each nan crime, but you besides person nan family,” Kidman says. “By nan end, we’re wholly fractured and alone. So you person this affectional travel arsenic a family that ends successful wreckage.”

McEwen says what makes nan show unsocial is its level of technological item and its humanity.

“It’s besides truthful refreshing to spot a female whose life doesn’t revolve astir a man and relationships,” she says. “Obviously that subsequently happens successful her life, but she’s location to work. She’s driven and she’s focused. I for illustration seeing that connected my screen.”

The bid is compelling not only because of its cardinal female character, but because it was besides made chiefly by women.

“What’s different astir this is that nan books are written by a woman, nan showrunner is simply a woman, it is produced by 2 women,” Curtis says. “It stars women. It focuses connected a family of women, including a queer child. And galore of nan unit were women. Many of nan post-production group were women. In that sense, I deliberation we’re making advances.”

Prime Video initially greenlit “Scarpetta” pinch a two-season bid and Season 2 will brace 1993’s “Cruel and Unusual” pinch 1994’s “The Body Farm.”

“Going into Season 1 was truthful daunting,” Sarnoff says. “You don’t cognize really anyone’s going to beryllium aliases what’s going to hap aliases what nan performances are going to beryllium like. Now we person truthful overmuch much knowledge. Everybody is excited to do it again.”