Critic Reviews

An engrossing depiction of horrific femicide, dysfunctional families and the lies that can change perceptions. Gliding seamlessly between the present and the past, the show follows Dr. Kay Scarpetta (a fantastic Nicole Kidman). .... “Scarpetta” is excellent storytelling. Even as the narrative grows more complicated, the show manages to keep the audience grounded in the crimes and Kay’s methodology.

The best recipe for the formula’s success is often as simple as casting, with Nicole Kidman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, and Ariana DeBose elevating this thriller about the hunt for deadly serial killers.

If Scarpetta has a flaw, it’s that the identification of the killer feels like a bit of an afterthought. All the mysteries surrounding that mystery—the undercurrents in Kay’s family and the way the past haunts its members—have become much more intriguing. Or is this a flaw? In a genre rife with shopworn tropes, it’s the detective series that captivates while breaking the mold that is the most worth celebrating.

The criss-crossing timelines gradually show how all these personal lives evolved over time, and it really does keep you hooked. Loading in such familial emotion is pretty nimble writing.

Its performances are captivating, and the chemistry between all the actors is electric. That said, while its murder-mystery storyline is competently spooled out, its bizarre detours into unfamiliar territory lead to mixed results. .... But Scarpetta is still worth exploring to see what secrets might lie beneath its surface.

Although Kidman’s performance and the show as a whole falter a bit in the final episodes, McEwen never does. Family and colleague interactions and clever dialogue engage more than the crime-solving aspects of “Scarpetta,” partly because gratuitous shots of nude female corpses cheapen that aspect of the show. But action-oriented scenes have their merits.

It all makes for a delightfully deranged series that, in its eight-episode first season, has something for everyone.

A pretty good version of something we've seen before, but still: nothing exactly new.

All in all, the Oscar-winner playing a detective of any kind was always going to make for compulsive viewing – which Scarpetta is, if you can get past the tonal whiplash.

We would be happier if Scarpetta was a period piece with its main characters’ younger versions instead of its current time-jumping format, but we’re hoping that the present-day storyline comes around as Kay and company revisit the serial killer case from the ’90s.