Media Murder for Monday

It's the start of a new week and that means it's time for a brand-new roundup of crime drama news:

THE BIG SCREEN/MOVIES

Phoebe Tonkin (Babylon) has been added to the cast leading the indie crime drama, And On The Eighth Day, from debut feature filmmaker Alexandra Chando. Although the plot details are a bit on the thin side, the story follows the journey of two small-time thieves who find themselves in a remote town in West Texas. The cast also includes Darren Mann, Mustafa Speaks, Valerie Mahaffey, Lindsey Morgan, and Tanner Beard.

NEON has set a December theatrical release for the thriller drama, Eileen, which will debut in New York and LA before going wide on December 8. The movie stars Oscar winner Anne Hathaway and is based on the 2015 debut novel by Otessa Moshfegh. It’s set during a bitter 1964 Massachusetts winter, when young secretary Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) becomes enchanted by the glamorous new counselor Rebecca (Hathaway) at the prison where she works. Their budding friendship takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret—throwing Eileen onto a sinister path. Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland, and Owen Teague also star in the picture, which was adapted for the screen by Moshfegh with Luke Goebel.

Black Widow actress Olga Kurylenko and American Gangster actor Armand Assante are headlining Kevin Lewis’ latest feature thriller, Misdirection, which looks to shoot later this year. The project follows a desperate couple (played by Kurylenko and Oliver Trevena), who have pulled off a string of high-end break-ins to pay off a mob debt. When they attempt to rob their latest victim, they find themselves caught in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse where the tables are turned and the hunters become the hunted.

Vertical has picked up rights to the crime thriller, Mother’s Milk, directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte (As You Are), with plans to distribute it in North America, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand beginning September 1. Written by Joris-Peyrafitte and Madison Harrison, Mother’s Milk follows journalist Marissa Bennings (Hilary Swank) who, after the murder of her estranged son, forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend Paige (Olivia Cooke) to track down those responsible for his death. Together they confront a world of corruption and drugs in the underbelly of a small city in upstate New York. And as they get closer to the truth, they unearth an even darker secret.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Max has made its first series order in Spain after Max owner Warner Bros Discovery decided to pull out of production in much of Europe except Spain. Max has greenlit When Nobody Sees Us, an eight-part thriller from Zeta Studios and based on the Sergio Sarria novel of the same name. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Spanish Holy Week celebrations, the series centers on two policewomen trying to solve a series of crimes in the Andalusian town of Morón de la Frontera, in the political and cultural region of Seville’s so-called "deep Spain," which is home to one of the biggest international U.S. military bases.

The Disney-backed network Freeform has canceled The Watchful Eye, described as a Hitchcockian contemporary thriller that follows a young woman as she is thrust into a world of old money and deadly secrets. It follows Elena Santos, played by Mariel Molino, a young woman with a complicated past, maneuvering her way into working as a live-in nanny for an affluent family in Manhattan. She quickly learns that everyone in the mysterious building has deadly secrets and ulterior motives. What they don’t know, however, is that Elena has some shocking secrets of her own.

Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology series has found its Erik and Lyle Menendez. The second season of the Netflix anthology series, a follow-up to The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, has cast Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez in the roles. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story chronicles the real-life brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menéndez. Although the siblings eventually confessed to parricide, they have long sustained that the reason for their actions was due to physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Lifetime has given a thumbs-up to another ripped-from-the-headlines movie, this time starring network mainstay Sarah Drew. How She Caught a Killer follows Detective Linda Murphy (Drew), a fresh-out-of-the-police academy rookie who overhears her boss, detective David Goodman (Eric Keenleyside) talking about a serial killer in the area who seems to be targeting sex workers. Teaming up with FBI agent Neil Carter (Jamall Johnson), Linda fights to go undercover to help solve the murders and, if all goes accordingly, capture a serial killer. Delilah Hamlin is also set to star as a former sex worker and aspiring nurse who is the killer’s first victim. Inspired by a true story, How She Caught a Killer will debut Saturday, August 19 at 8p/7c on Lifetime.

Disney+ is moving into the contemporary UK thriller space with the greenlighting of a series based on Alex Dahl’s parents-worst-nightmare novel, Playdate, with casting yet to be announced. In Playdate, when Elisa’s nine-year-old daughter asks to go on an overnight playdate with her new best friend, Elisa agrees. But when she goes to pick her up, Elisa discovers that the beautiful house was a holiday rental, while her daughter has disappeared. What follows is a manhunt across Europe, while Elisa and husband Fred find themselves the object of police scrutiny.

Max has released the official trailer for its upcoming Steven Soderbergh-helmed limited series, Full Circle, which features a star-studded cast including Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Dennis Quaid, Zazie Beetz, Jharrel Jerome, and CCH Pounder. The six-episode series, premiering July 13, centers on an investigation into a botched kidnapping that uncovers secrets and connects people from different backgrounds and cultures in New York.

PODCASTS/VIDEO/RADIO/AUDIO

The Listening to the Dead crew returned to Crime Con in London for another live recording. They were joined by renowned forensic podiatrist, Haydn Kelly, to discuss his remarkable career and the first use of forensic gait analysis as expert evidence in criminal law at The Old Bailey in the trial of jewelery thief John Saunders. From Shakespeare to the Usual Suspects, a person's gait is mentioned time and again. But how much can you really tell from a person's gait? More than you might think!

On Crime Time FM, M.W. "Mike" Craven chatted with Paul Burke about his new high octane thriller, Fearless; Lee Child; Tilly & Poe; TV rights; Michael Connelly; and the amygdala.

On Read or Dead, Kendra Winchester and Katie McLain Horner shared some of their favorite scary summer books.

The latest podcast episode from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine is the tale, "Twos on That," from Scottish journalist and author Pat Black, whose stories featuring Inspector Lomond have been appearing in EQMM since 2019.