Laura Dern to play journalist that brought down Jeffrey Epstein in new limited series
Laura Dern is to star in a new series which details the journalistic investigation into the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In the limited series, Dern will play reporter Julie K Brown, whose investigation into Epstein in 2017 and 2018 for the Miami Herald led to the police reopening the case and ultimately his re-arrest.
Brown documented her story in the 2020 book, Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, which will serve as the basis for the new series.
Adam McKay, the director behind Anchorman, The Big Short and Don’t Look Up, will produce the series through his Hyperobject Industries and Sony Pictures TV are also involved.
According to Sony, Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story is “an explosive account of an investigative reporter exposing the secret plea deal between Epstein and federal prosecutors.”
They add of the series, “Drawing from Brown’s experience as a groundbreaking reporter for the Miami Herald, the book and the limited series follow her relentless years-long investigation that identified 80 victims, persuaded key survivors to go on the record, and led to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s arrests.”
Brown’s journalism had a huge ripple effect after she uncovered the details of the secret plea deal between Epstein and prosecutors, leading to Alex Acosta to resign from his position as US Secretary of labor.
The script for the series will come from Sharon Hoffman, who is co-showrunner with Eileen Myers. Dern will act as an executive producer, as will Brown and McKay. It is yet to find a buyer.
While the Epstein scandal has been the focus of several documentaries, most notably Netflix’s Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich from 2020 and Peacock’s 2021 film Epstein’s Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell, this will be the first scripted series tackling the subject.
Following the release of more than three million files in relation to Epstein by the Department of Justice in January, which has led to criminal investigations into both Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson in the UK, as well as the tragic death of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre last April, there has been renewed interest in the subject of late.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.