Prime Video has given the series greenlight to a drama centered on Karen Read, hailing from Elizabeth Banks, Justin Noble and David E. Kelley.
Banks (“Cocaine Bear,” “Pitch Perfect”) will star in and executive the untitled series, while Noble (“The Sex Lives Of College Girls,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) will write, showrun and executive produce the project. As for Kelley, he will executive produce the show.
Warner Bros. Television produces the one-hour drama series, with Brownstone Productions, David E. Kelley Productions, Audible and Law&Crime serving as executive producers.
Inspired by the Law&Crime and Audible Original podcast “Karen,” the eight-episode series kicks off when a Boston police officer is found dead in the snow during a blizzard and all eyes are turn to his girlfriend, Karen Read.
“But when she and her legal team claim she’s not only innocent, but that she’s the victim of a conspiracy protecting the real assailants, the story spreads like wildfire, dividing a community in ways they’ve never seen,” the official logline reads. “As endless suspicion mounts, in multiple directions, this genre-bending true crime series explores society’s explosive obsession with true crime.”
“I grew up in Massachusetts, and like so many people there, we watched this case divide families, friends and entire towns,” Banks said in a statement. “We have spent years with this material because the questions it raises go far beyond one courtroom: why we choose the stories we believe, and what happens when trust in our institutions breaks down. Justin has written a series that respects and treats with care the complexity of what happened and the public reaction to it. We are grateful to Prime Video, Warner Bros. Television and our partners at David E. Kelley Productions, Wondery and Law&Crime for believing in it from the start.”
“This case has more twists and turns than any story I’ve ever consumed, real or fictional,” Noble said. “It makes M. Night Shyamalan look like Nora Ephron. But the reason this story resonates and must be told is because of the profound takeaways it leaves us with: about a deeply imperfect justice system that urgently needs change, about the mistreatment of women by those who weaponize and abuse their power, and about a victim who deserves to be remembered.”
“At its core, this series is about more than a single case — it’s about what happens when truth becomes a matter of perspective and an entire community is forced to confront its own deepest divisions,” Amazon MGM Studios head of global TV Peter Friedlander said. “With Justin Noble’s sharp, nuanced storytelling, Elizabeth Banks’ captivating presence, and the powerhouse creative team behind this project, we believe this will be a defining series that sparks conversation around the world.”
Additional EPs include Max Handelman, Krissy Wall via Brownstone Productions, Matthew Tinker for David E. Kelley Productions, Aaron Hart, Marshall Lewy, Jeni Mulein and Jen Sargent for Audible and Rachel Stockman and Dan Abrams for Law&Crime.
“The Karen Read case gripped the country because it tapped into questions about truth, loyalty and who we choose to believe,” said Marshall Lewy, head of Audible Content for North America. “‘Karen,’ the Law&Crime podcast and an Audible Original, set the standard for telling this story and is exactly the kind of IP that translates powerfully to television. We’re thrilled to work with this incredibly talented team.”
