Scarpetta

Matt Roush says...

Joining Bosch and Cross from page to screen with only the last name needed to attract longtime fans, an eight-part adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s bestsellers stars Nicole Kidman as Kay Scarpetta, the driven medical examiner whose methods of dissection and detection have entertained readers since 1990. The series (all episodes available for binge-watching) unfolds over two timelines: in the present day, when the seasoned forensic pathologist returns to her Virginia roots to resume her role as the state’s Chief Medical Examiner; and another reaching back 28 years, when the young and inexperienced Kay (played by Rosy McEwen) tackles a troubling murder case that comes back to haunt her all these decades later. Simon Baker co-stars as Kay’s FBI profiler husband, with Bobby Cannavale as her unofficial partner, a retired detective, and pulling focus on the home front, an over-the-top Jamie Lee Curtis as Kay’s overbearing sister Dorothy and Ariana DeBose as her niece Lucy, who in the weirdest subplot is burying her grief over the death of her wife Janet (New Amsterdam‘s Janet Montgomery) by hanging out obsessively with Janet’s overly sympathetic AI avatar. At times, it feels like there are two or three shows fighting for attention. (See the full Scarpetta review.)

What's Worth Watching (Mar 11)