What is a true crime series without truly outrageous casting?
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On the heels of Chloë Sevigny and Javier Bardem portraying Mary Louise “Kitty” and José Menendez in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming “Monsters” installment , “The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” IndieWire can confirm that Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen are taking on another devastating ’90s story: The death of JonBenét Ramsey.
McCarthy and Owen will star as Patsy and John Bennett Ramsey, the parents of the six-year-old beauty queen tot who was found murdered in the basement of her family’s home. JonBenét was reported missing only hours before her body was found in 1996. The killer was never caught.
The official series description for the Paramount+ show, currently titled “JonBenét Ramsey,” reads: “The show centers on the Ramsey family, before and after the tragedy, as they go through the painful loss of a child while facing intense public scrutiny caused by a media frenzy that caused this case to captivate an entire nation. At the heart of the series, it is the story of Patsy and John Ramsey – exploring the unbreakable partnership of these two complex people – as husband and wife, as mother and father – who had committed themselves and their children to building the narrative of a perfect, privileged life only to have it destroyed one Christmas night in 1996.”
Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and President/CEO of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios, said of the casting, “Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen are an extraordinary duo to delve into this tragic story that has cast a long, haunting shadow over American culture for nearly three decades.”
The show is created by “Behind the Candelabra” Oscar-nominated writer/executive producer Richard LaGravense, who serves as showrunner. Harrison Query and Tommy Wallach are also writers and executive producers on the series. Query and Wallach sold the project to MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.
The Executive Vice President of Programming for Paramount+, Jeff Grossman, said, “JonBenét Ramsey continues to be one of the country’s most fascinating unsolved murders. The incredible talent of Melissa McCarthy, Clive Owen and the creative team led by Richard LaGravenese will illuminate her story with the acuity and nuance it deserves.”
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The eight-episode show will be directed by Anne Sewitsky (“Presumed Innocent”) for four episodes; another director for the second half of the series has yet to be announced. Production will begin in Calgary, Canada.
Lead star McCarthy and director Sewitsky executive produce along with David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, and David Hutkin of 101 Studios.
101 Studios CEO Glasser explained that the series has been in development “for some time now” and will be a “thought-provoking and bold” show.
McCarthy has won two Emmys for “Mike & Molly” and “Saturday Night Live.” The Academy Award nominee has appeared in shows “The Gilmore Girls,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “God’s Favorite Idiot,” and “Samantha Who?” McCarthy was also rumored to be almost cast in “Baby Reindeer.”
Fellow Oscar-nominated star Owen recently led “Monsieur Spade,” “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” and “A Murder at the End of the World.” His past TV roles additionally include “The Knick” and TV film “Hemingway & Gellhorn,” for which he received an Emmy nomination. Owen has portrayed both Bill Clinton and Ernest Hemingway, with John Ramsey being his latest biographic part.
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