{"id":624603,"date":"2026-10-08T18:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T18:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/624603\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T18:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T18:36:09","slug":"elizabeth-banks-officially-set-to-play-karen-read-in-amazon-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/624603\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Banks Officially Set to Play Karen Read in Amazon Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAmazon has officially greenlit a drama series about Karen Read<\/a> with Elizabeth Banks<\/a> set to star, Variety has learned. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe untitled, one-hour series was first reported to be in the works<\/a> in 2025. It is inspired by the Law&Crime and Audible Original podcast \u201cKaren.\u201d Justin Noble will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Amazon has commissioned eight episodes. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe logline for the show states: <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen a Boston police officer is found dead in the snow during a blizzard, all eyes are on his girlfriend, Karen Read (Banks). But when she and her legal team claim she\u2019s not only innocent, but that she\u2019s the victim of a conspiracy protecting the real assailants, the story spreads like wildfire, dividing a community in ways they\u2019ve never seen. As endless suspicion mounts, in multiple directions, this genre-bending true crime series explores society\u2019s explosive obsession with true crime.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAlong with Noble, Banks will executive produce in addition to starring under Brownstone Productions banner. Max Handelman and Krissy Wall of Brownstone also executive producer. David E. Kelley and Matthew Tinker will executive produce via David E. Kelley Productions along with Aaron Hart, Marshall Lewy, Jeni Mulein and Jen Sargent of Audible and Rachel Stockman and Dan Abrams via Law&Crime. Warner Bros. Television is the studio. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI grew up in Massachusetts, and like so many people there, we watched this case divide families, friends, and entire towns,\u201d said Banks. \u201cWe have spent years with this material because the questions it raises go far beyond one courtroom: why we choose the stories we believe, and what happens when trust in our institutions breaks down. Justin has written a series that respects and treats with care the complexity of what happened and the public reaction to it. We are grateful to Prime Video, Warner Bros. Television, and our partners at David E. Kelley Productions, Wondery and Law&Crime for believing in it from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is the second TV starring role announced for Banks in recent months. It was previously reported that she is set to lead a comedy series from Liz Heldens<\/a> at Apple TV. She also recently starred in the Prime Video series \u201cThe Better Sister,\u201d which aired on the streamer in 2025. Her other TV credits include \u201cThe Miniature Wife\u201d at Peacock, \u201cMrs. America\u201d for FX\/Hulu, and both \u201c30 Rock\u201d and \u201cScrubs.\u201d In film, Banks is best known for her roles in \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d franchise and \u201cPitch Perfect.\u201d She also directed and produced the 2023 hit horror comedy \u201cCocaine Bear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBanks and Brownstone are repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis case has more twists and turns than any story I\u2019ve ever consumed, real or fictional,\u201d said Noble. \u201cIt makes M. Night Shyamalan look like Nora Ephron. But the reason this story resonates and must be told is because of the profound takeaways it leaves us with: about a deeply imperfect justice system that urgently needs change, about the mistreatment of women by those who weaponize and abuse their power, and about a victim who deserves to be remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNoble most recently co-created the HBO Max series \u201cThe Sex Lives of College Girls\u201d with Mindy Kaling. He has also written for shows like \u201cBrooklyn Nine-Nine,\u201d \u201cNever Have I Ever,\u201d and \u201cIdiotsitter.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe is repped by WME. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt its core, this series is about more than a single case \u2014 it\u2019s about what happens when truth becomes a matter of perspective and an entire community is forced to confront its own deepest divisions,\u201d said Peter Friedlander, head of global television for Amazon MGM Studios. \u201cWith Justin Noble\u2019s sharp, nuanced storytelling, Elizabeth Banks\u2019 captivating presence, and the powerhouse creative team behind this project, we believe this will be a defining series that sparks conversation around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHart, who co-leads the film and TV division of Audible after holding the same position at Wondery, shepherded the project to the screen. Other Audible podcasts that have been adapted for television in recent years include \u201cDr. Death\u201d at Peacock,\u201d \u201cWeCrashed\u201d at Apple TV, and \u201cDying for Sex\u201d at FX. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Karen Read case gripped the country because it tapped into questions about truth, loyalty, and who we choose to believe,\u201d said Lewy, head of Audible Content, North America. \u201cKaren, the Law & Crime podcast and an Audible Original, set the standard for telling this story and is exactly the kind of IP that translates powerfully to television. We\u2019re thrilled to work with this incredibly talented team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amazon has officially greenlit a drama series about Karen Read with Elizabeth Banks set to star, Variety has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624604,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[444,168755,156,142619,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-624603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-amazon-prime-video","tag-elizabeth-banks","tag-entertainment","tag-karen-read","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}