Medical Examiner K. Scarpetta has been featured in a very successful series of thriller novels by Patricia Cornwell since 1990. Now finally, she's coming to television. A new prime video series stars Nicole Kidman as the tough, smart Scarpetta, whose latest murder case is entangled

with a much earlier one. It was the one that made her reputation, and now she's not sure she got it

right. The show's got a big cast, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Bobby Connovali, and Ariana DeBose.

I'm Linda Holmes, and today we're talking about Scarpetta on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

Joining me today is the host of the podcast, Happy to Be Here, Greta Johnson.

Hello, Greta.

Hello, Linda.

Also with us is Christina Tucker.

She's the co-host of the podcast. Wait, is this a date? Hello, Christina. You'll say he-hoo.

And rounding out the panel is culture writer, Margaret H. Willis, and hello, Margaret. Hello, Linda. So happy to be here to unpack this all with you guys. What an incredibly lively panel. I'm so delighted to have all of you here.

So Patricia Cornwell has written close to 30 novels about Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner whose work in forensics has made her a legend.

Nicole Kidman plays Kay, adding another TV series to what's become a pretty busy schedule. Her flaky sister Dorothy, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is married to Pete, a former cop

who is Kay's longtime bestie and who helps her out on the side.

He's played by Bobby Conavale.

Kay has been taking care of Dorothy's daughter, Lucy, played by Ariana DeBose, since she was a child. And the tech savvy Lucy is now dealing

with the death of her wife. Kay's husband, Benton, played by Simon Baker, works for the FBI.

Kay's latest case involves a murdered woman who immediately reminds Kay of a case she handled

many years earlier. That's right,

people. It's a dual timeline. We watch the much younger Kay, played by Rosie McEwen, work that case

with the much younger Pete in his cop days. He's played by Bobby Connovali's son, Jake. There is a

tremendous amount going on in these eight episodes. We are going to try

to make our way through it. The series is streaming now on Prime Video, and we should mention

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