Prime Video drops first look at ‘Scarpetta’ – and this forensic thriller just became one of 2026’s must-watch new series
Prime Video has just unleashed the first-look images for Scarpetta, and trust us, crime thriller fans are about to have their pulses sent skyrocketing. Adapted from Patricia Cornwell’s iconic, era-defining book series, this is the long-awaited moment Kay Scarpetta devotees have been dreaming of for decades. With more than 120 million copies sold globally since Scarpetta first stepped onto the page in 1990, the character finally slices her way onto the screen in a prestige, big-swing adaptation led by Amazon MGM Studios and Blumhouse Television.
And mark your calendars now: Scarpetta premieres March 11, 2026, streaming exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories. This one is global. This one is huge. And from the looks of these first images… this one is going to cut deep.
Oscar winner Nicole Kidman steps into the role of Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the brilliant, relentless, cold-steel medical examiner whose scalpel-sharp mind has enthralled readers for decades. Kidman’s Scarpetta is a woman who refuses to be intimidated: whether by grisly crime scenes, the ghosts of the past, or a serial killer who’s not finished with her yet.
This adaptation leans hard into what fans love: Scarpetta’s unwavering commitment to giving victims a voice, her forensic brilliance, and the emotional weight that comes with being the last line of truth in a world built on lies. And yes, that legendary “career-making case” from nearly thirty years ago? It’s coming back with a vengeance, and Scarpetta is determined it won’t be the case that finally breaks her.
At the helm is Emmy-nominated writer and showrunner Liz Sarnoff (Barry, Lost), a storyteller who knows how to build tension, character, and dread with masterful precision. Sarnoff crafts Scarpetta as a dual-timeline psychological thriller, tracing Kay’s evolution from a rising Chief Medical Examiner in the late ’90s to her modern-day return to her hometown, and the bloody case waiting for her.
Expect a series that digs deeper than the average crime procedural. This is about trauma, identity, obsession, and the price demanded by justice. Secrets rot beneath the surface, loyalties are strained, scars are reopened, and family ties, especially the fraught relationship between Kay and her sister Dorothy, threaten to combust under pressure.
Prime Video has assembled a knockout cast to bring Cornwell’s characters to the screen:
- Nicole Kidman as Dr. Kay Scarpetta — forensic pathologist, truth-seeker, lionheart.
- Jamie Lee Curtis as Dorothy Farinelli — Kay’s complicated, sharp-edged sister with secrets of her own.
- Bobby Cannavale as Detective Pete Marino — Scarpetta’s longtime ally, confidant, and occasional thorn.
- Simon Baker as Benton Wesley — the cool, calculating FBI profiler who’s as enigmatic as he is brilliant.
- Ariana DeBose as Lucy Watson — Kay’s niece, a fearless, tech-prodigy firecracker with skills that could save lives… or destroy them.
Completing the dual-timeline structure are Rosy McEwen, Amanda Righetti, Jake Cannavale, and Hunter Parrish, who bring the younger versions of the core cast to life with intensity and precision.
With powerhouse talent both in front of and behind the camera, a legacy name in the crime genre, and a first-look that already drips with mood, precision, and dread, Scarpetta is shaping up to be one of 2026’s must-watch thrillers.
Crime fans, forensic junkies, psychological drama lovers, sharpen your senses. Kay Scarpetta is coming. And the truth is about to be cut wide open when Scarpetta drops on Prime Video on March 11, 2026.
Image: Prime Video
