Scarpetta TV Review: Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis headline the long-awaited adaptation of the best-selling novels

Plot: With skilled hands and an unnerving eye, this unrelenting medical examiner 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-layered thriller that examines the toll of pursuing justice at all costs.

Review: Patricia Cornwell’s mystery novels featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta have been perennial best-sellers since the first book, Postmortem, hit bookshelves in 1990. With twenty-nine books published over thirty-five years, it is surprising that it has taken this long for the character to get adapted for screens. After attempts by Demi Moore and Angelina Jolie failed to reach the big screen, Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis have finally adapted the novels into a streaming series. Produced by Blumhouse and created by Liz Sarnoff, Scarpetta is not a straight adaptation of the Cornwell novels but instead uses the source material to create a wholly original story that stays true to the title character and the supporting players fans of the books have been waiting to see on screen. Scarpetta is an interesting blend of storylines set in both the past and the present as it tackles a shared mystery spanning almost three decades.

Scarpetta introduces audiences to the titular character, who is a Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia. Having returned to the state after years in Boston with her husband, Benton (Simon Baker), Kay Scarpetta (Nicole Kidman) arrives just as a dead body is found matching a similar murder the doctor investigated twenty-eight years earlier. As the eight-episode first season unfolds, the story of the past and present investigation unfolds simultaneously in each episode. In the early 1990s, the rookie medical examiner is played by Rosy McEwen, who does a solid job of emulating Nicole Kidman both physically and performance-wise. We also meet Scarpetta’s friend, retired detective Pete Marino, played by Bobby Cannavale in the present and Jake Cannavale, Bobby’s son, in the past. Kay’s sister, Dorothy Scarpetta, is a major factor and foil for Kay. Jamie Lee Curtis plays her in the present with Amanda Righetti in the past. Kay’s niece, Lucy Farinelli-Watson, is played by Ariana DeBose, with Savannah Lumar taking on the role in the past scenes. Hunter Parrish portrays the younger Benton. Each character has connections between the two cases, which evolve our understanding of the relationships with each new chapter.

For fans of the books, the mystery set in the 1990s follows the first Scarpetta novel, Postmortem, pretty closely, down to the names of the victims and the prime suspect, Matt Petersen, played by Graham Phillips and Anson Mount. But while the past storyline features characters from the novel, like reporter Abby Turnbull (Sosie Bacon), state’s attorney Bill Boltz (Mike Vogel), and others, the motives and core mystery at play are original to the series. This allows the two time periods to evolve almost like parallel series that could have been released as distinct shows with distinct casts, but the blending of past and present gives Scarpetta a distinct feel unlike any other procedural or mystery series. It also helps that while both casts are very good, the present-day ensemble is one of the best you could ask for. Nicole Kidman has been playing a wide range of roles over the last several years, but Kay Scarpetta is unique. A trained medical doctor and lawyer, Scarpetta’s past has helped shape her into a hard-nosed investigator, but one who will do whatever it takes for justice. That can sometimes lead her down a path you would not expect a heroic protagonist to take, but it works. Kidman brings an edge to her portrayal of the main character, who must balance the most disturbing of cases with the stress of her complicated home life.

What makes Scarpetta unique beyond the blended story across two different time periods is the family dynamic. Mixing up the chronology of the books, Scarpetta heavily focuses on Kay’s adversarial relationship with her sister, Dorothy. Jamie Lee Curtis chews the scenery as the loud and brash Italian-American Dorothy whose daughter, Lucy, was taken in by Kay when she was a child. In the current story, Ariana DeBose plays Lucy as a recently widowed tech entrepreneur who is mourning her wife and obsessed with an A.I. program of her. This causes a rift amongst the family as Dorothy and her husband, Pete, and Lucy are living with the newly relocated Scarpetta and her husband. Under one roof, the stress is at a maximum and it gives a levity to moments in the series that are otherwise bleak, violent, and disturbing. Add in Benton’s work with a unit of the FBI where he is partnered with Sierra Patron (Anna Diop) and there are a lot of characters to track in multiple time periods.

Created by Liz Sarnoff who also wrote the series alongside Matthew Zucker and Iturri Sosa, Scarpetta pulls from Sarnoff’s extensive experience writing for marquee series including NYPD Blue, Deadwood, Lost, and Barry. Sarnoff knows procedurals, drama, and handling multiple timelines as well as anyone and it shows in this series. There are no prompts to the shifting time periods with past and present following each other from scene to scene. But, it never gets confusing as the narratives complement each other naturally and inform one another. It also helps that David Gordon Green handles directing duties on multiple episodes including the premiere and finale. Best known for directing a trilogy of Halloween movies as well as comedy series The Righteous Gemstones and Vice Principals, Green shows a proficiency in handling the darkness of Scarpetta with some of the lighter moments of familial strife. Green is joined by Shogun and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power director Charlotte Brandstrom who combine to give Scarpetta a cinematic look.

With all eight episodes dropping at once, Scarpetta is a solid binge that will keep you guessing from the first episode to the last with a final scene that will have viewers waiting to find out what the hell just happened. A second season seems to be a foregone conclusion with a powerhouse duo of Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis anchoring this long-awaited series. Patricia Cornwell’s novels have been giving a unique adaptation that will please long-time fans as well as those tuning in based on the cast alone. I was not expecting to like this series as much as I did with the two leads delivering on the trailer with the unique blend of time periods setting Scarpetta apart from any other mystery or procedural series on today. Scarpetta is a perfect example of an adaptation done right by keeping the core of what makes the books so popular but remixing it in a way that keeps everyone ont heir toes for what could come next. Whenever a mystery is solved and I didn’t see it coming, that is a good sign that the series is worth checking out.

Scarpetta premieres on March 11th on Prime Video.