Nicole Kidman Crime Thriller Scarpetta Sets Premiere Date — First Look Photos Revealed

Prime Video finally put a date on Scarpetta, the Nicole Kidman forensic thriller they have been cooking up — and yeah, it is a wait. The series arrives March 11, 2026, along with some first-look photos to hold us over. Here is the lay of the land: two timelines, a serial killer, a career-making case that will not stay buried, and a cast stacked with heavy hitters.

What the show is doing

Scarpetta tracks Dr. Kay Scarpetta across two eras: her first run as a chief medical examiner in the late 90s, and her present-day return to her hometown, where she steps back into the job and gets thrown into a grisly new case. The hook is simple and juicy — she is chasing a killer while also trying to prove the massive case that made her name 28 years ago is not the thing that destroys her now. Along the way, she is juggling messy family dynamics (especially with her sister, Dorothy Farinelli), old professional grudges that have not cooled, and secrets that could blow up everything she has built.

"Determined to serve as the voice of the victims"

That is the series mission statement, and it sounds like the show is aiming for a character-first forensic thriller that actually lets the fallout stick.

The cast, across both timelines

• Nicole Kidman as Dr. Kay Scarpetta (present)
• Jamie Lee Curtis as Dorothy Farinelli, Kay's sister (present)
• Bobby Cannavale as Detective Pete Marino (present)
• Simon Baker as Benton Wesley, an FBI profiler (present)
• Ariana DeBose as Lucy Watson, Kay's tech-savvy niece (present)
• Rosy McEwen as young Kay Scarpetta (late 90s)
• Amanda Righetti as young Dorothy Farinelli (late 90s)
• Jake Cannavale as young Pete Marino (late 90s)
• Hunter Parrish as young Benton Wesley (late 90s)

Behind the scenes (for the credits nerds)

Liz Sarnoff — who co-created Alcatraz and wrote on HBO's Barry — developed Scarpetta for TV and is writing the series. It is based on Patricia Cornwell's mega-selling Kay Scarpetta novels, which have moved 120 million copies worldwide, so there is plenty of material to mine.

Executive producers include Sarnoff, Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Patricia Cornwell, Per Saari, Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Chris Dickie, Chris McCumber, David Gordon Green, and Amy Sayres. Green is not just producing — he directed five episodes.

The show is produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Blumhouse Television, in association with Blossom Films, Comet Pictures, and P&S Projects.

When and where to watch

Scarpetta premieres on Prime Video on March 11, 2026. Prime also dropped the first photos if you want an early peek at the vibe. Long runway to release, but on paper this one checks a lot of boxes.