Scarpetta: what is Nicole Kidman’s new series worth according to the American press?
Three Oscar-winning stars in the cast, books sold by the millions. But critics are very divided on the new prestige crime series from Prime Video.
With Scarpetta, now online, Prime Video finally adapts the saga of Patricia Cornwell, launched more than thirty years ago. Starring Nicole Kidman in the role of famous forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta, the series follows her return to her post as head of the Virginia Forensic Service, years after being ousted. But his first new investigation will reawaken a 28-year-old case… Between violent murders, family secrets and psychological wounds, the series constantly navigates between past and present. So has this very ambitious criminal thriller – which we haven’t been able to see yet – convinced the American press?
They like
Variety praises both Nicole Kidman’s performance and the power of the story: “Nicole Kidman is electrifying in this spectacular serial killer thriller from Prime Video.” For the media, the series remains captivating even when the plot becomes more complex: “Scarpetta is an excellent example of storytelling. Even when the story becomes more complicated, the series manages to keep the viewer anchored in the crimes and in Kay’s method. It also shows the thunderous misogyny of another era, including the echoes still resonate today, while exploring the discomfort with death and its impact on the living. And above all, it reminds us that monsters can take many forms.
The New York Times also sees in the series a more strange and stylized television object than the average streaming thriller: “Scarpetta resembles less the usual criminal thriller of the platforms than the violent and deliberately outrageous series that the networks broadcast when they wanted to be artistic, like Hannibal on NBC or The Following on Fox.” Critics even call it an “American giallo”, with its numerous naked and bloodied female bodies and a particularly striking final scene.
They are mixed
TV Guide, America’s specialist periodical, finds that the series suffers especially from arriving in a television landscape saturated with stories of forensic doctors and serial killers: “It’s hard to ignore the fact that Scarpetta ultimately doesn’t do anything truly revolutionary. Patricia Cornwell’s novels brought a new forensic perspective to crime fiction in the 1990s. But today, series that dissect autopsy reports and DNA analyzes are Cornwell was ahead of his time, but Hollywood took so long to adapt his books that Scarpetta now feels like it’s been seen before. It’s a good version of something we already know, but nothing really new…”
ScreenRant also believes that the series sometimes struggles to find its balance. The site writes: “Often, and from the beginning of the series, the domestic problems are more intense than the criminal elements, especially when the central mystery of Scarpetta is slow to emerge clearly. The series therefore struggles to find the right tone, sometimes giving the impression of suffering from an identity crisis.” The criticism also highlights the accumulation of sometimes very disparate elements – Russian spies, futuristic technologies or sentimental intrigues – which coexist with a much more classic criminal investigation.
They don’t like
TVLine is much more severe and judges the series disappointing despite its impressive cast. The specialized site speaks of a “bloody criminal procedural… but too dull to really make an impact.” And to add: “The series can boast of having no less than three Oscar-winning actresses in its cast, led by Nicole Kidman. But the end result unfortunately does not live up to its promises, sinking into a certain mediocrity with a confusing narration, misplaced humor and a central mystery which is simply not very captivating.”
TV Insider finally points out a problem of tone: “The procedural aspects, as macabre as they are – particularly during the very graphic autopsies – too often take second place behind excessive family melodrama which sometimes makes you want to eliminate half of the characters on the screen.” The review also notes that Kay Scarpetta’s domestic tensions eventually take over the investigation itself, throwing the entire series out of balance.
