Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis star in the long-awaited adaptation of Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta novels, but the result is a dire mess. Despite the star power and chemistry between the leads, the series is a boilerplate procedural that strips the source material for parts and adds a cynical techy spin.
The show jumps between two timelines: present-day Scarpetta (Kidman) investigates a murder with a bound, handless body, while flashbacks to the 1990s show young Scarpetta (Rosy McEwen) tracking a similar killer who leaves glittery residue. The dual timeline, not in the original novels, could have been clever but instead yields a sluggish narrative with forced tension and deus ex machina revelations.
Worse, the series introduces an AI chatbot as a main character—Janet, the deceased wife of Scarpetta's niece Lucy (Ariana DeBose). This sub-Black Mirror subplot feels repetitive, and Jamie Lee Curtis's character Dorothy has heartfelt conversations with a computer screen. A subplot about 3D-printed organs and astronaut deaths adds further absurdity.
Kidman and Curtis have terrific chemistry as warring siblings, but their scenes alone cannot salvage the show. The adaptation also fails to capture the misogyny Scarpetta faces in Cornwell's novels, reducing it to a request not to use the word 'bitch'. McEwen tries her best, but the protagonist remains undefined beyond her traumas.
Scarpetta is the apex of 'prestige trash'—eight increasingly weird episodes that could have been a tight four-parter. The trend of relying on existing IP feels tired, but this shows the danger of trying too hard to modernise.
