It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:
THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES
Terence Winter, the master of the gangster genre known for his work on The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and more, is teaming up with Academy Award-nominated producer Rachel Winter (Dallas Buyers Club) to develop a feature adaptation of A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime. Marking the latest work of non-fiction from New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman, the book chronicles the deadly love affair between screen legend Lana Turner and her gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. It will be published through Sourcebooks early next year.
Amazon MGM Studios and Miramax released a trailer for the action film, The Beekeeper, which hits theaters January 12, 2024. It stars Jason Statham as a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as "Beekeepers." He single-handedly takes on a sinister organization that wronged a friend in a series of violent encounters that end up having national stakes. Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad, and Jeremy Irons also star.
Vertical has picked up domestic distribution rights for Fast Charlie (adapted from Victor Gischler’s thriller novel, Gun Monkeys), a crime caper that stars Pierce Brosnan and also the late James Caan in his final performance. Per the logline, "Charlie Swift [Brosnan] is a fixer with a problem: the thug he’s whacked is missing his head and Charlie will only be paid if the body can be identified. Enter Marcie Kramer [Morena Baccarin], the victim’s ex-wife and a woman with all the skills Charlie needs."
TELEVISION/SMALL SCREEN
Starz has handed an eight-episode series order to the thriller drama, The Hunting Wives, based on the novel by May Cobb, which marks Starz’s first new series pickup since the end of the writers' strike. The Hunting Wives tells the story of Sophie O’Neil and her family’s move from the East Coast to deep-red East Texas, where she succumbs to socialite Margo Banks's irresistible charms—and finds her life consumed by obsession, seduction, and murder.
Boiling Point writer Roanne Bardsley is penning a TV adaptation of the Claire McGowan thriller, What You Did, for the BBC. The book charts the reunion of six university friends together again after 20 years apart. Host Ali finally has the life she always wanted, a career she can be proud of and a wonderful family with her college boyfriend, now husband. But that night her best friend makes an accusation so shocking that nothing will ever be the same again, as she staggers in from the garden, bleeding and traumatized, claiming that she has been assaulted—by Ali’s husband, Mike.
Sky Studios is developing a prequel series to Gomorrah and Romanzo Criminale, two of the most successful Italian TV series of all time. Inspired by Roberto Saviano’s bestseller, the untitled Gomorrah prequel will spotlight the criminal rise of Pietro Savastano, from when he was a kid on the streets to becoming the most important and ruthless mafia boss in Naples. Gomorrah ran for five seasons on Sky between 2014 and 2021, totalling 58 episodes, while a 2008 film of the same name was loosely based on the book. Meanwhile, Romanzo Criminale will focus on the years before the rise of the Banda della Magliana criminal organization, as recounted in the two seasons of the original series. Also on board for the prequel project is the "father" of the historical series, Giancarlo De Cataldo, judge and author of the novel of the same name that inspired the drama.
Hugh Dennis and Kate Robbins have boarded the Channel 4/Starz drama, The Couple Next Door, which stars Sam Heughan and Eleanor Tomlinson. The thriller series follows Tomlinson’s character, Evie, and Pete (Harry Potter star Alfred Enoch), who move into an upscale neighborhood and find themselves in a world of curtain twitching and status anxiety. They find friendship in the shape of the couple next door, alpha traffic cop Danny (Heughan) and his wife, glamorous yoga instructor Becka (Jessica De Gouw), but after Danny and Evie share a passionate night together, there is trouble ahead.
Netflix released a trailer for PLUTO, a murder mystery in a futuristic world where robots and humans have a strained relationship. Based on "The Greatest Robot on Earth" story from the Astro Boy manga, PLUTO follows an inspector, Gesicht (Shinshû Fuji), as he tries to track down a serial killer picking off both robots and humans alike. PLUTO is streaming on Netflix from Oct. 26.
Hulu released a teaser trailer for The Artful Dodger, starring Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis, and Maia Mitchell, which is set to premiere Wednesday, November 29. Billed as an irreverent follow-up to Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, exploring the adult double life of the famous prince of thieves, the series is set in 1850s Australia where Jack Dawkins, aka young rogue The Artful Dodger (Brodie-Sangster), is now all grown up and has transferred his skills as a pickpocket to the nimble fingers of a surgeon. His past returns to haunt him with the arrival of Fagin (Thewlis), luring him back into a world of crime, while the local governor’s daughter (Mitchell), who is determined to become the colony’s first female surgeon, appears to be a greater threat, at least to his heart.
Apple TV+ released a first look at Criminal Record, the streamer's London-set crime thriller series starring Doctor Who alum Peter Capaldi and The Good Fight's Cush Jumbo as detectives in a tug of war over a historic murder conviction. The eight-episode series will launch with the first two episodes on Friday, January 12, 2024, followed by one new episode each Friday through February 23. Criminal Record is described as a powerful, character-driven thriller set in the heart of contemporary London where an anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives (Capaldi and Jumbo) into a confrontation over an old murder case.
The official trailer for Black Cake offers a glimpse of a family drama that spans both countries and decades — and involves a murder. Based on the book by Charmaine Wilkerson, the series tells the story of the recently deceased Elanor Bennett, who left her adult children Byron and Benny a USB drive containing information about her past. This causes the pair to discover a wealth of secrets about their mother, starting in late 1960s Jamaica, with a murder, runaway bride, and a mysterious disappearance. Black Cake arrives November 1 on Hulu.
PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO
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The latest episode of The Crime Cafe features Debbi Mack's interview with crime writer Brian Lebeau, whose debut novel is A Disturbing Nature.
On Crime Time FM, Doug Johnstone chatted with Paul Burke about his new novel, The opposite of Lonely; the Skelfs; Sci-Fi; mathematical modelling; and being the writer in residence at a funeral parlor.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Book Club discussed Horror or Spooky reads appropriate for October.
On Spybrary, thriller author Alex Gerlis talked about espionage, WW2, and historical accuracy.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: The Art & Science of Crime Fiction, hosted by Dr. DP Lyle, featured a topic of interest to historical crime writers, namely the medical treatments available in Ancient Egypt.
On Writer's Detective Bureau, Detective Adam Richardson answered questions about California’s Alcoholic Beverage Control agency; who investigates murders involving the military; and the surprising limitation on Tribal Police law enforcement powers.
A new episode of Mysterious Journey, a podcast of short radio plays produced by the Artists' Ensemble Theater, features "Poirot and the Body on the Train" (based on Agatha Christie's short story, "The Plymouth Express"). A body is found under a train seat, and Hercule Poirot is called upon to investigate.
The latest Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine podcast featured the story of two former high school football stars who return to their old stomping grounds for a big payday, in Eli Cranor's "Double Fly Rocket 87" from the January/February 2022 issue. Cranor is a former professional football player whose novel Don't Know Tough won the 2023 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
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