An ambitious new crime thriller by Amazon Prime based on author Patricia Cornwell’s award-winning novels, Scarpetta, starring Nicole Kidman, Simon Baker, Jamie Lee Curtis, and others, has become the subject of much review online since it premiered last week. And while it has garnered mixed reactions from critics and viewers, we think the series, which was adapted by Liz Sarnoff, has potential — even if it currently falls short.
Prestige Rating: 3/5
Genre: Crime thriller, procedural drama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, Rosy McEwen, Jacob Lumet Cannavale, Hunter Parrish, Ariana DeBose
Showrunner: Liz Sarnoff
Release date: March 11, 2026
Plot: Amazon Prime’s eight-episode series is based on award-winning author Patricia Cornwell’s series of crime novels, of which there are currently 29. The series centers the eponymous protagonist Kay Scarpetta, portrayed by Nicole Kidman, a forensic pathologist who uses her skills, knowledge, and talents to help solve murders. The series opens with Scarpetta’s return to Virginia for a second shot as Chief Medical Examiner, a post she once held in the 1990s before events forced her to move away. Upon her return, she is immediately presented with a killing that bears a striking resemblance to her very first case. Surrounded in a quagmire of secrets, professional sabotage, familial chaos, and grief, Scarpetta must confront her past — as well as the killer.
Split across two timelines, the series covers the events of the first book, Postmortem (1990), for flashbacks, and the 25th, Autopsy (2021) for present day.
What we liked: Casting director John Papsidera, who is best known for his work on Academy Award-winning war drama Oppenheimer (2023), The Odyssey (2026), Superman (2025), Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) and Wednesday (2022 — 2025), has really pulled out the big guns for Scarpetta. On paper, the cast list reads like a love letter to prime drama acting, with not one, but two Academy Award winners — Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis — among the top-billed stars on the show.
