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
Anne Hathaway is set to star in Verity, the upcoming feature from Amazon MGM Studios, which Michael Showalter is directing. Based on the bestseller by Colleen Hoover, the story follows Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who is on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling thriller author Verity Crawford (Hathaway), has hired Ashleigh to complete the remaining books in a successful series his wife is unable to finish after a mysterious accident. Upon arrival at the lavish Crawford estate, Ashleigh slowly learns things aren't as they seem with the discovery of a secret, unfinished manuscript that may divulge chilling admissions about the family’s past. As Ashleigh ingratiates herself with Jeremy and his young son Crew, she must discern if Verity’s writings are merely lurid works of fiction or an ominous warning by a deranged psychopath.
Deadline reported that Philip Barantini is attached to direct Enola Holmes 3 and that franchise star Millie Bobby Brown is expected to return in the title role. Based on the book series by Nancy Springer, the previous two films centered on Enola as she followed in the footsteps of her famous brother, Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill), solving mysteries all across London. Plot details about the new pic are unknown, but insiders close to the project say what won over producers when it came to Barantini’s take was to go a little darker and skew a little older. Sources add he pitched this installment as doing for the franchise what Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban did for the Harry Potter series.
Mark Kimsey and Roger Birnbaum's Electromagnetic Productions are developing the feature film, Inconceivable. The project, written by Lauren Black, is a gripping thriller about 38-year-old college professor Sydney Drake, who is determined to obliterate any obstacle in her quest to conceive. She finds an unlikely mark in an unsuspecting student whom she drags into her increasingly unhinged journey as a decades-old secret entwining their pasts threatens to blow up both their lives.
TELEVISION/STREAMING
Apple TV+ has given a green light to Cape Fear, a TV series executive produced by two Oscar winners, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. They are joined by a third, Javier Bardem, who will star and also executive produce. Created by Nick Antosca (The Act), Cape Fear is based on both John D. MacDonald’s novel The Executioners — which inspired the 1962 feature of the same name directed by J. Lee Thompson from storyboards devised by original director Alfred Hitchcock — as well as the 1991 remake directed by Scorsese. In the 10-episode series, a storm is coming for happily married attorneys Amanda and Steve Bowden when Max Cady (played by Bardem), a notorious killer from their past, gets out of prison. That is a slight departure from MacDonald’s book and the movies where only the husband is a lawyer. In the two features, Max was played by Robert Mitchum (1962) and Robert De Niro (1991). The married couple was played by Gregory Peck and Polly Bergen and Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange, respectively.
Zachary Quinto (Brilliant Minds), Patti LuPone (Agatha All Along), Hank Azaria (Ray Donovan), and Clark Gregg (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) have joined the cast of The Artist, a Gilded Age murder mystery limited series from the free, ad-supported streamer and studio The Network. They join previously announced Mandy Patinkin, Janet McTeer, and Danny Huston. Created, executive produced, written and directed by filmmaker and The Network founder Aram Rappaport, The Artist, set in the twilight of the Gilded Age, follows an ensemble of the era’s celebrities including Thomas Edison (Azaria), Edgar Degas (Huston) and Evelyn Nesbit who meet at the home of Norman Henry, an eccentric and failing tycoon, played by Patinkin, and his wife Marian (McTeer) which ends in his untimely demise.
Scott Foley (Scandal) has joined the cast of ABC's hit series Will Trent in a recurring role. Based on Karin Slaughter’s "Will Trent" series, Special Agent Will Trent (Ramon Rodriguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Now, he uses his unique point of view in the pursuit of justice and has the highest clearance rate in the GBI. Season 3 of Will Trent premieres January 7, at 8 pm on ABC and will stream the next day on Hulu.
The Equalizer is the latest hit CBS series to explore a spinoff, as the Queen Latifah crime drama will introduce two new characters in Episode 516 this season who could anchor their own series. Casting is underway for the roles: a skilled younger female martial artist, weapons expert, and criminologist with a secret origin story who turns to McCall (Queen Latifah) for help, and an older male former top CIA operative. If the offshoot goes forward, its two-hander format would be a departure from the original 1985 Equalizer series, the current CBS reboot as well as the movie franchise, all of which had a single lead, male (first series and movies) and female (the Queen Latifah version).
The BBC, Netflix and co-producer ZDFneo have given the go-ahead for a second season of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, one of the breakout hits of 2024, which stars Emma Myers as the precocious lead, Pip Fitz-Amobi. Based on the popular YA books penned by Holly Jackson, the six-part Season 2 will be taken from Jackson’s second novel, Good Girl, Bad Blood, where Pip is initially determined to stay away from more investigations after solving the Andie Bell case. But as Max Hastings’s trial approaches, key witness Jamie Reynolds suddenly disappears, and Pip finds herself in a race against time to find him.
PODCASTS/RADIO
NPR chatted with Christina Lynch about her new novel, Pony Confidential, which is about an unlikely detective: a crime-solving pony who sets off to find his long-lost first owner.
In the latest episode of Spybrary, host Shane Whaley engages in a riveting discussion with historian and author Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall. Known for her expertise in the history of women in intelligence, Claire brings to light the overlooked yet monumental roles women have played in British Intelligence. Her book titled Her Secret Service – The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence aims to challenge the male-dominated narrative of intelligence history.
The Red Hot Chili Writers discussed Vaseem Khan's latest book, City of Destruction, and chatted about the history of murder, and history's most prolific murderers.
On the Crime Cafe podcast, host Debbi Mack chatted with attorney, playwright, poet, and author Dan Flanigan, whose novels include the Peter O’Keefe hardboiled crime series.
On Crime Time FM, GJ Williams (The Wolf's Shadow), AJ Aberford (The Car Horn Revolution), and Alec Marsh (Cut and Run) chatted with Paul Burke about their latest novels.
A new Mysteryrat's Maze Podcast is up featuring the mystery short story "The Jumper" written by John Floyd and read by actor Larry Mattox. This is the first of the podcast's Christmas mysteries this year.
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