When you’re a Patricia Cornwell fan, you recognize Kay Scarpetta.
Cornwell’s work with that character was so influential in my life that I can bear in mind precisely the place I used to be when studying sure novels.
However I can’t lie. The final individual I needed to play Kay was Nicole Kidman.
So, the deal is that the sequence has landed a two-season deal with Prime Video. Kidman will play Kay, and Jamie Lee Curtis will play her sister, Dorothy.
5 others have additionally been added to the sequence, together with Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale, Emmy nominee Simon Baker, Rosy McEwen, and Jake Cannavale.
However with regards to Kidman, I’ve been complaining so much these days. She’s change into THE go-to lady for restricted sequence, and he or she’s overutilized to distraction.
Usually, she’s enjoying a rich lady with a sure angle. Her roles don’t differ a lot from sequence to sequence, and it generally seems like if you happen to’ve seen one, you’ve seen all of them.
So, Scarpetta could possibly be a technique to shake her out of her on-screen doldrums.
We’ve mentioned the brand new downside of TV counting on stars fairly than making them, and Kidman’s TV domination is indicative of that.
Kay Scarpetta is scrappy, will get her fingers soiled, and is extremely clever and a savvy investigator. She’s meticulous and hard, however she’s additionally compassionate.
Her look has been described as an athletically constructed blonde. Frankly, I imagined her considerably like Jodie Foster.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Dorothy would have been a superb match with Foster, however not as a lot with Kidman.
Now, don’t get me incorrect. I get pleasure from a number of Kidman’s work. However when a face turns into too acquainted, popping up in each different new present, we’ve obtained an issue.
In some unspecified time in the future, exhibits endure as a result of folks affiliate a personality with an actor fairly than permitting a personality to blossom by itself.
This can be a case the place a lesser-known actor might have made a big impression by changing into Kay Scarpetta. Kidman comes with a lot of on-screen (albeit worthwhile) baggage, and that may change into a part of Scarpetta’s legacy.
Right here’s the official logline for the sequence:
[Scarpetta] “follows Kay Scarpetta (Kidman), the Chief Medical Examiner, as she returns to Virginia and resumes her former place with complicated relationships, each private {and professional} — together with her sister Dorothy (Curtis), with loads of grudges and secrets and techniques to uncover.”
It’s straightforward to grasp why Kidman and Curtis need to carry the Scarpetta sequence to the display. Kay is good and lively, a uncommon character with a sturdy private {and professional} life.
“I’ve needed to carry Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta to a display with my firm, Comet Photos, for some time,” Curtis stated. “I’m significantly excited that Nicole Kidman will lastly carry her to life.
“I’m additionally trying ahead to enjoying Nicole’s sister as we inform the story with Liz Sarnoff’s professional care, management, ability, and expertise, and I’m excited to work once more with David as our director.
“I do know the ardent followers of the books will probably be very joyful, and the brand new viewers will probably be compelled by the characters, crimes, and mysteries which can be the trifecta of Patricia’s masterful storytelling.
“Blumhouse, Blossom, and Prime Video are the right companions to carry Scarpetta to you and a warning……..there WILL be BLOOD.”
Curtis appears to know the story and the character nicely. So why didn’t she love Scarpetta sufficient to present the character company fairly than permitting it to change into a star car?
If I’m not thrilled with the casting, Cornwell disagrees. And Scarpetta is most undoubtedly her legacy.
“I’m past excited that that is lastly occurring. This will probably be nice enjoyable for all, and I’m grateful for the immense expertise that the present is drawing. I’ve at all times been an enormous fan of Jamie Lee Curtis and Nicole Kidman.
“Their wanting to do that is humbling and easily superior. Working with the good Liz Sarnoff is wonderful. Blumhouse and Prime Video are a dream. This has been value ready for, and I’m so trying ahead to the present,” Cornwell stated.
Kidman, too, has nice love for the character.
She stated, “I’ve been pursuing Scarpetta for practically twenty years going again to when it was supposed to be a characteristic, so … [it] feels prefer it was meant to be. I can not wait to inhabit Kay Scarpetta and am so grateful to Patricia Cornwell for entrusting me together with her,” Kidman stated.
So, whereas I’ll upset, lots of you’re most likely delighted.
In truth, I’ll nonetheless watch. I hope the sequence is trustworthy and provides sudden ranges to the books. I even hope it lasts many seasons.
Cornwell, the followers, and Scarpetta deserve that.
