{"id":681680,"date":"2026-07-09T04:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681680\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T04:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:37:12","slug":"hbo-crime-drama-based-on-the-story-of-an-80s-serial-killer-is-in-the-works-heres-what-we-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681680\/","title":{"rendered":"HBO crime drama based on the story of an &#8217;80s serial killer is in the works \u2013 here&#8217;s what we know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">HBO has just announced a new crime series about 1980s serial killer Dorothea Puente, with Oscar-winning star Geena Davis cast in the lead role. Titled Dorothea, the series will see the Thelma &amp; Louise star play Puente, who also known as the Killer Landlady and the Death House Landlady after being given the nicknames by the press.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Davis, who more recently starred in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/netflix\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/netflix\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Netflix\" data-node-id=\"9.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Netflix<\/a>&#8216;s prematurely axed sci-fi series The Boroughs, is also set to executive produce together with showrunner Joshua Michael Stern, writers Michael Rosenbaum and Jane Whitney, and Jeff Frost, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/news\/geena-davis-serial-killer-dorothea-puente-hbo-1236803306\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/news\/geena-davis-serial-killer-dorothea-puente-hbo-1236803306\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Variety\" data-node-id=\"9.5.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Puente was &#8220;a Sacramento woman who ran a boarding house for the less fortunate in the 1980s, but her seemingly benevolent actions belied her sinister motives&#8221;, the synopsis teases. The killer was active between 1982 and 1988 and was eventually charged with the murder of nine people, including several of her tenants.<br data-node-id=\"13.1\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"dorothea puente\" title=\"Dorothea Puente\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"5550\" height=\"4603\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cc2f271e-62cf-4104-a394-04795fdb25cd.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Bettmann\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best streaming services UK 2026 \u2013 including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV\" data-node-id=\"18.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Best streaming services UK 2026 \u2013 including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV<\/a> <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">She poisoned her victims and buried their bodies around boarding house so she could cash their social security checks.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Puente was ultimately convicted for three of the murders due to a deadlocked jury on the other six counts. She was sentenced to life in prison in 1993 and died at the Central California Women&#8217;s Facility in 2011 aged 82.<br data-node-id=\"26.1\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">This isn&#8217;t the only upcoming project for Davis, though. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">On the big screen, she&#8217;s next featuring in stoner comedy The Wrong Girls, marking the directorial debut of Dylan Meyer, who also wrote the film. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"geena davis\" title=\"Geena Davis\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2778\" height=\"4167\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a5f0d1cd-bb6d-43c8-825b-0bc1dcaa137c.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lionel Hahn\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"40\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a71503642\/netflix-the-witness-uk-chart\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a71503642\/netflix-the-witness-uk-chart\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Netflix&#039;s 100%-rated true-crime drama with &#039;phenomenal performance&#039; goes straight into UK chart\" data-node-id=\"40.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Netflix&#8217;s 100%-rated true-crime drama with &#8216;phenomenal performance&#8217; goes straight into UK chart<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"44\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Davis stars opposite protagonists Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat as Frankie and Molly, two weed-loving, co-dependent best friends who get roped into a case of mistaken identity.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"48\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">The stacked cast also includes LaKeith Stanfield, Zack Fox, Tony Hale, Kate McKinnon, and Cate Blanchett. Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani also star as the voices of the protagonists&#8217; cats, Dio and GG.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"52\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Dorothea will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"57\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Streaming Guide\" data-node-id=\"57.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"61\" class=\"css-1ncddsh emevuu60\">The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating the global phenomenon of BTS, is here! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsbts\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsbts\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"61.0.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online<\/a>.<br data-node-id=\"61.1\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783571832_772_a5577bef-f874-41e6-b03b-0f8d9f1e5f46_1686136547.file.png\" alt=\"Headshot of Stefania Sarrubba\" title=\"Headshot of Stefania Sarrubba\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Reporter, Digital Spy<\/p>\n<p>Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/author\/stefaniasarrubba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Radio Times<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Digital Spy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HBO has just announced a new crime series about 1980s serial killer Dorothea Puente, with Oscar-winning star Geena&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[147950,208040,379,227561,381,96,190731,1156,227560,223205,148387,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-681680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-collection-true-crime","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-12a16c95-78b7-47ef-9c5b-c4547f08e902","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-hbo-crime-drama-based-on-80s-serial-killer-is-in-the-works","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-us-tv","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}