User Reviews

Great cast but awful script and acting. Jamie Lee Curtis was over-the-top, everyone else seemed to phone it in. The casting of Kay Scarpetta for flashback scenes 28 years earlier was horrible. Using AI or Nicole Kidman voice would have been better. Couldn’t get past the awful casting. Loved the books so disappointed by the series. The plot(s) were boring. Leave the fake family alone.

Truly appalling. Endless domestic rowing, shouting, with an f word in every sentence. And SO much idiotic killer smoking. What are decent actors doing in this feeble-plotted rubbish?

Damn. Really? Nicole Kidman? Awful choice. Her placticized face is so much different than the Kay Scarpetta of book fame. Just icky to look at. The rest of the cast was OK. And, the AI.. Stupid...

Me pareció una serie interesante, pero algo irregular. Tiene buen suspenso y una historia que engancha por momentos, aunque se siente muy desordenada y con momentos muy convenientes. No está tan mal, pero pudo ser mucho mejor.

What a shame, I loved the books! The TV series has potential but turns cringy slopfest faster than Nicole Kidman can blink her eyes at herself. And why did it have to be SO painfully woke it is almost comical? Strong, black, gay women, evil white men... really? Who financed this nonsense?

Longtime Richmonders know that Patricial Cornwell (#2 female author in the world) used to live here and placed the mysteries of the titular forensic pathologist in Virginia. (Sadly, this was shot in Tennessee). Turns out this series is a pretty standard crime drama, but what sets it apart is the amount of time devoted to the dysfunctional family at the center. Nicole Kidman and Rosy McEwan hold the title role in 2 different time periods (Kidman in present and McEwan 28 years earlier). Jamie Lee Curtis and Amanda Righetti are cast as her sister and so on. As a result, the first eps seem muddled and confusing as we try to figure out who’s what when. The mystery later unfolds with the expected twists and although the end solves this season’s killer, it’s left with a cliffhanger. Meanwhile, much time is spent with this group, none of whom are especially likable. Kidman/McEwan have a shutdown persona (typical for Kidman), while the over-the-top performance by Curtis gets extreme until she moderates later in the show. The writers let the ball drop by using current phrases like “off the table” and “optics” in the past and staging one scene in a 1998 cinema with recliners, which didn’t show up for another 20 years. The series has some merit, especially using some new technology (which gets shuffled aside without completion). Considering the cast, this could have been better. Instead, it’s competent, but not exceptional. NOTE: Cornwell shows up in the first ep swearing in Scarpetta.

Very forced, as always, wokeness, a black niece, gay, Jamie Lee Curtis badly acted, Nicole a grimace with those lips, horrible, the only one who save the day is Bobby Cannavale, the character a bit silly, it's not his fault, it's the script, waste of time and electricity.

Obviously the producers havent read all the books Although scarpettas characteristics are present the series is too violent and inaccurate with her actions in the books One and done for me Cant wait for a new scarpetta mystery in book form

Wanted to like this more - I like Bobby and Nicole as actors - Jamie Lee Curtis is just bad. Never read the books, but like these type of dark crime mystery/crime dramas - but so much wokeness - This really could be so much better, but it just gets in its own way

Well where to start. The Prime catch line on the show kinda says it all tbh. It is very redundant and shows a real misunderstanding of the source material. First this is an absolute disgusting failure of a book to TV show. I assume Cornwell just sold the rights and went into a corner to count her cash. Good for her tbh. Butttttttttttt take away the source material and maybe put a muzzle on Curtis 50% of the show, then it is an absolute joy of a thing to watch!!!! I love this about the show....they took the only guidance that Cornwell would have given and made this about the family and that is 100% on target. Finally, this cannot be a woke show!!!!! This is just how she wrote her books and I am absolutely in love with that part of the transition!! So can you enjoy a book to TV transition?? Absolutely not!!! It is so piss poor. Can you avoid a 2026 woke disaster?? Absolutely!! This is just the most base part of Cornwell's writing. Can you enjoy the this mess? Yes it is a great family mess of a show and that is where the love of Kay Skarpetta really shines when you get into the meat of her series. I loveeeeee this show and hate this show in equal amounts!! I will stream at least 3 more times!!

I am a faithful reader of the Scarpetta books. I know books adapted to tv or movies are changed to a certain degree. However, I feel like this adaptation is a disservice to faithful readers of the series. I have spent years reading about these characters and in doing so, have a certain expectation of who these characters are. I'm feeling a little sad that Patricia Cornwell has let this character be changed as much as she has. Kay Scarpetta is a moral and ethical person. Is she flawed? Of course! We all are. But to change the very fiber of characters that we fundamentally know from reading about them for years is hurtful. I feel like the only characters true to the books are Dorothy and to a point, Marino. Lucy, Benton and Scarpetta wouldn't be able to do their jobs as emotionally flawed as they are on this adaptation. I'm not saying it's not a good show. I think anyone who watches and hasn't read the books will like it. I'm just having a hard time with changing the moral fiber of characters I have spent the last 36 years with. Regardless if you're a reader or not, books have a profound effect on us. You spend a lot of time with these characters and you feel like you know them and have a certain regard for them. Yes, it's fiction. But part of our lives nonetheless. I certainly will continue reading about Kay Scarpetta. I just can't reconcile the Kay Scarpetta from the books to the TV character.

Fans of the books should comment on the books. The series is fantastic, Kidman is exceptional as Scarpetta, and the pace and desire to keep watching really pull you in. Anyone rating it so low must be a fan of another writer.

Disappointing. The constant yelling and arguing in Dr Scarpetta's dysfunctional family is loud and endless. I remember her niece Lucy as a teenage PITA in the books; she hasn't improved much as an adult. Jamie Lee Curtis, whom I normally love, is totally miscast as Scarpetta's eccentric and obnoxious sister. And the two of them are at each other's throat nonstop. The constant back and forth between Scarpetta young and Scarpetta in the present is confusing. To be frank, the first episode almost gave me a headache. Since the next episode would probably succeed, I'm crossing this off my watchlist.

I wasn't sure of the casting choices when announced, but overall I'd say they did a decent job especially with Dr. Scarpetta. I'm not familiar with the later books so a lot of the "present time" storyline and status quo didn't make sense at first but didn't take away from enjoying the series. The pacing and dual past/present storytelling reminds me of American Horror Story, so it wasn't as confusing or hard to keep up with as some people have stated as I'm used to that kind of production. The only things I didn't enjoy was the added focus on Dorothy, and that Pete and Benton didn't quite match their personas and descriptions from the books. There's of course some changes from the books and you can't please everyone, so it's not a "perfect" adaptation, but it's definitely an enjoyable watch whether you're a fan of the books or just coming into the world of Kay Scarpetta through the show.

The main character is Jamie Lee Curtis as Scarpetta's sister. Scarpetta has less of a presence. It's way off base from the books. The primary support should be Lucy (her niece) and Wesley (her husband), but they barely appear. It's also confusing, going back and forth between the first and second murders. I was very disappointed.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]