What To Know
- Jamie Lee Curtis, also a producer on Scarpetta, made sure Ariana DeBose would star as her daughter in the series.
- Here, the actresses weigh in on their characters’ “spicy” dynamic.
Scarpetta might center on the past and present investigations of its title medical examiner, but the heart and humor of the new Prime Video series, which premieres on March 11, is in the family dynamics at play — including the intensely unusual dynamic of the mother-daughter duo portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis and Ariana DeBose.
As in the books, their characters, Dorothy Farinelli and Lucy, have had a strained relationship for years, with the latter becoming a tech genius while the former flitted around the world, bouncing from one relationship to the next.
Curtis, also a producer on the series, went out of her way to ensure her fellow Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner — who’d actually presented the award to her in 2023 for Everything Everywhere All at Once — would come on board for the role, too.
“I knew Ari before. We were friends before, and then when we were casting and her name came up, and everybody was like, ‘She’ll never do this. We can’t get her. Blah, blah, blah.’ It’s like, ‘I know her. I will text her!’” Curtis told TV Insider. “I was on the set of Freakier Friday and texted from the LINE Hotel in Downtown Hollywood, and she answered ‘yes’ when I said, ‘You want to be in a TV series with Nicole Kidman and me for two seasons on Amazon?’”
Curtis went on to explain, though, that when she invited DeBose to star on the show with her, she didn’t consider the details of their characters’ relationship at the time.
“I hadn’t really paid attention yet to what, in fact, was going to happen between us… It’s a spicy energy between them. And I feel badly that Dorothy was such a s**tty mother, but it’s turned out to be some very interesting work together.”
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Prime Video
For Debose, it was their off-screen connection that contributed to the chemistry of the characters, even in moments of acrimony.
“It was really interesting work, but I also think it’s even more successful on screen because we do have a mutual love and respect for each other,” DeBose said. “These characters, they say a lot of things that maybe they don’t mean, or things they really do mean. Sometimes you’re not really sure, and they can hurt. I think we’re both really great actors, and when we say something that is sharp, it cuts. And so I think the work is even deeper and more like it’ll stay with you because you know that we do really have a real liquidity for each other.”
Scarpetta, which is the first major screen adaptation of the Patricia Cornwell novels, drops in full next week and is already renewed for a second season at Prime Video.
Scarpetta, Series Premiere, Tuesday, March 11, Prime Video
