Nicole Kidman and Rosy McEwen, who share the role of the titular forensic pathologist in the Prime Video series “Scarpetta,” worked with medical examiner Dr. Amy Hawes to ensure the autopsy scenes felt authentic.
“[Hawes] taught them how to hold a scalpel, how to remove an organ — and they got quite good at it, actually,” showrunner Liz Sarnoff told Variety at the series’ New York premiere on Tuesday night. “We never did a crime scene, a scene in the morgue or anything without her.”
“Scarpetta” is split between two time periods, with McEwen playing the younger Kay Scarpetta and Kidman as the forensic pathologist later in life. Based on the bestselling book series by Patricia Cornwell, the crime drama follows Dr. Scarpetta as she investigates a series of gruesome murders reminiscent of a case she handled in the 1990s. The series also stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, Ariana DeBose, Jake Cannavale and Hunter Parrish.
Kidman had the opportunity to rehearse with McEwen to maintain consistency in the dialect and movement for their shared character. In addition to training with Dr. Hawes for the autopsy scenes, the two actors worked with the same dialect coach, Thom Jones.
“We were able to use the same sources to create our base, and then we just spent time — we studied, and with this project we had rehearsal,” Kidman said. “We had a proper rehearsal period. A lot of times with films now and with shows, there isn’t that process. It’s invaluable when you have it.”
She continued, “So we sat around on the floor of a rented house and we rehearsed with our writer, our director and our medical examiner, and we had time to do our research and our prep, and it all came together.”
Beyond the crimes and autopsies, the show also explores a storyline that feels especially relevant today: Curtis’ character, Dorothy, has a daughter (played by DeBose) who communicates with an AI avatar of her late wife.
“It’s always been a subject that’s sort of fascinated me because we have the ability to do that now,” Sarnoff said. “And I feel like the show is about death and loss, so that is a really different way to deal with loss. It felt important to say, ‘This is what’s coming. How do we feel about it? And how do we feel it’s affecting the person who’s in the most grief?’ And it’s a hotbed of discussion amongst everyone: is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Is it holding her back? Is it healing her?”
Curtis, for one, called the reality of that technology “one of the saddest things.”
“It’s a terrible trend I’m hearing about. It’s a terrible misuse of what that technology should be used for, which is excellent in certain areas and awful in interpersonal areas,” Curtis told Variety. “And I’m sure someone could argue, if someone’s lonely, that an AI friend is better than no friend at all — and I disagree. That’s a machine. That’s not a human being.”
“Scarpetta” premieres on Prime Video on March 11.
English (US) ·