Elizabeth Banks to play Karen Read in Amazon’s new true crime series

Elizabeth Banks will star as Karen Read in Amazon’s eight-episode drama based on the high-profile Massachusetts case

Elizabeth Banks is set to star as Karen Read in an upcoming Amazon drama series inspired by the high-profile Massachusetts case.

The untitled one-hour series has received an eight-episode order from Amazon and is based on the Law&Crime and Audible Original podcast Karen. Justin Noble, who co-created The Sex Lives of College Girls, will serve as writer, showrunner and executive producer.

The series follows Karen Read, whose boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, was found dead in the snow during a blizzard. According to the show’s official logline, Read and her legal team maintain that she is innocent and that a conspiracy was responsible for protecting the real assailants.

The drama will explore the case and its impact on the community, while examining society’s growing fascination with true crime and the different perspectives surrounding high-profile legal battles.

Banks will executive produce the series through her Brownstone Productions banner alongside Max Handelman and Krissy Wall. David E. Kelley and Matthew Tinker will also executive produce through David E. Kelley Productions. Audible and Law&Crime executives are among the additional producers, with Warner Bros. Television serving as the studio.

Banks, who grew up in Massachusetts, said the case had divided families, friends and communities in the state. She added that the series will examine questions surrounding the stories people believe and public trust in institutions.

The project marks another major television role for Banks, who recently starred in Prime Video’s The Better Sister. Her other credits include 30 Rock, Mrs. America and the Pitch Perfect and The Hunger Games franchises. She also directed the 2023 horror comedy Cocaine Bear.

Amazon has not yet announced a release date or additional cast members for the Karen Read series.