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
 
Magnolia Pictures has closed a deal for I Want Your Sex, with a big theatrical release planned for later this year. The Gregg Araki-directed erotically charged drama follows Elliot (Cooper Hoffman), a kind-hearted, if unmotivated, twentysomething, whose fantasies quickly come true when he lands a job with renowned artist and provocateur Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde). When Erika breaks down office boundaries and takes Elliot on as her sexual muse and subordinate, their sexually-charged relationship makes him question his own desires, boundaries, and relationships with his uptight girlfriend (Charli XCX) and repressed roommate (Chase Sui Wonders). As the stakes heighten and power dynamics shift, the film mixes satire, romantic comedy, mystery, and murder. Mason Gooding, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, Roxane Mesquida, and Daveed Diggs round out the cast.

Sony Pictures has tapped Pete Chiarelli (The Proposal) to pen a new installment of the Charlie’s Angels franchise. Charlie’s Angels originated with the hit ’70s ABC series of the same name, and was centered on a trio of female private investigators played by Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith. Sony first reignited the franchise with a 2000 film starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu, which was a box office hit and spurred the 2003 sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. The next attempt at breathing new life into the franchise was a 2011 ABC revival starring Annie Ilonzeh, Minka Kelly, and Rachael Taylor, which was canceled after just a handful of episodes. Sony’s most recent attempt came with a 2019 film written and directed by Elizabeth Banks, and starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska, which didn’t fare well at the box office.


Nick Jonas has signed on to star in the action-thriller, Bodyman, a film to be directed by Gary Fleder (Homefront) from a script penned by Byron Balasco (Kingdom). Principal photography is set to begin in June 2026. Bodyman follows a violent struggle for power and ultimately survival that ensues during a family Christmas when an eccentric billionaire unexpectedly signs over his nepo-baby children’s expected inheritance of his private military company to his longtime bodyguard (Jonas). Who will make it out of their remote family estate alive?


Catherine Zeta-Jones is set to star in the psychological thriller, Cupid, as a marriage counselor whose methods push a fractured relationship into increasingly dangerous territory. The film will be directed by Tate Taylor (The Girl on the Train, The Help) from a screenplay by the Van Dyke brothers (Don’t Worry Darling). Cupid follows a couple who try to repair their frayed marriage over the course of a weekend at the home of seemingly helpful but unorthodox marriage counselor (Zeta-Jones). What starts out as a hopeful endeavor quickly turns dark as her methods become crueler and more dangerous. Filming is being lined up for late summer-early fall 2026 in Natchez, MS.


TELEVISION/STREAMING

David Boreanaz is taking over the iconic role of Jim Rockford in NBC's upcoming reboot pilot of The Rockford Files. The character was originally played by the late James Garner, who portrayed Rockford on the original NBC show from 1974-1980 and in six made-for-TV movies on CBS. The concept for the reboot series sees James Rockford newly paroled for a crime he didn't commit and returning to his life as a private investigator, using his charm and wit to solve cases around Los Angeles. It doesn’t take long for his quest for legitimacy to land him squarely in the crosshairs of both local police and organized crime. Boreanaz reached out to Garner's daughter, Gigi Garner, about his casting, and she enthusiastically gave him her blessing.


Oscar winner Colin Firth has been cast opposite Jack Lowden in Apple TV‘s untitled drama based on Metropolis from Philip Kerr’s bestselling Berlin Noir book series featuring detective Bernie Gunther. Oscar winner Peter Straughan wrote the adaptation, which is directed by Tom Shankland. Bernie (Lowden) is a police officer, newly promoted to the intimidating and elite Berlin Murder Squad, and must investigate what seems to be a serial killer targeting victims on the fringes of society. Bernie’s Berlin is a city of unprecedented freedom and dizzying turbulence, the Nazis just a distant nightmare waiting in the wings. Firth will play Paul Lohser, a brilliant but prickly Murder Detective with the Berlin Police. Meticulous, anti-social, and well-educated, he’s everything Bernie isn’t. And as his partner and unlikely mentor, Lohser is Bernie’s best and only hope of catching the killer.


Kerry Godliman (After Life) and Nina Singh (Virdee) have been cast as the lead detectives in BritBox and ITV’s reboot of Dalziel and Pascoe, based on the mystery novels of the same name written by Reginald Hill. Godliman and Singh will play female detectives in a twist on the original series (broadcast on the BBC for 12 seasons between 1996-2007), which starred Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan in the titular roles. The reimagined series centers on the relationship between seasoned Detective Inspector Andrea Dalziel (Godliman) and the newly qualified, by-the-book perfectionist Detective Sergeant Paige Pascoe (Singh). Despite their clashing methods, Dalziel and Pascoe work together to form a formidable partnership that is underscored by humor, heart, and humanity.


Safe Houses, the latest spy series from Apple International, is in negotiations with Jennifer Connelly and Ana de Armas to star in the series from Homeland scribe Gideon Raff. The eight-episode series is based on the Dan Fesperman novel, an international espionage thriller set in the aftermath of the killing of a high-ranking CIA officer in Madrid. The show is centered on Sofia Jiménez (de Armas), a fugitive agent accused of the crime, and Ambassador Elizabeth Winthrop (Connelly), the victim's widow, as they each investigate the murder from opposite sides, unraveling a vast conspiracy that could upend the balance of global power. Fesperman’s novel was released in 2018 by Knopf. The title is one of at least a dozen books written by the former reporter, which are inspired by the real-life assignments he covered across the globe.


Fremantle’s Red Planet Pictures has beaten out competition to land It’s Not What You Think, the upcoming novel from bestselling author Clare Mackintosh. Kam Odedra (Hijack, Lupin), will adapt the novel (being published by HarperFiction in March) for TV. The story follows Nadeeka Prasanna and Detective Chief Inspector Lauren Caldwell, who are forced together after Nadeeka finds her partner, Jamie, murdered and her home a crime scene. As they embark on parallel investigations, the two women are taken down dark, sinister, and diverging paths in a race against time.  


JD Pardo (Mayans M.C., Road House) has joined the recurring cast of the MGM+ series Bosch: Start of Watch, a prequel series that expands the Bosch Universe into the past. He joins the previously announced leads Cameron Monaghan and Omari Hardwick, as well as Ariana Guerra. The prequel is set in 1991 Los Angeles and follows 26-year-old Harry Bosch (Monaghan) during his earliest days as a rookie cop. Pardo will play Cory, a brilliant, disciplined professional thief whose calm precision was forged in the foster system, where he learned early how to read people, anticipate danger, and stay in control. Raised alongside his younger surrogate brother, Bosch, Cory developed a fierce loyalty to the family he chose. There is no direct source material for Start of Watch since author Michael Connelly’s Bosch book series does not include a prequel. The story came together through bits and pieces from Harry’s early years, which are planted in various novels in the book series.


Peacock‘s new crime thriller M.I.A., from creator, writer, and executive producer Bill Dubuque, will be available on May 7. Season 1 consists of nine 60-minute episodes and stars series regulars Shannon Gisela, Cary Elwes, Danay Garcia, Brittany Adebumola, Dylan Jackson, Alberto Guerra, Maurice Compte, Gerardo Celasco, and Marta Milans. Running drugs is a family affair for Etta Tiger Jonze (Gisela) in M.I.A. But when the family business is threatened, she is thrust into a life she never expected, forcing her to use her wits to survive as she navigates Miami’s criminal underground. M.I.A. has the distinction of being one of the few shows set in Miami that was also produced there.


The first trailer was unveiled for Prime Video's Scarpetta. Based on Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling book series, Scarpetta centers on the titular character (played by Nicole Kidman), an unrelenting medical examiner, who is determined to serve as the voice of the victims, unmask a serial killer, and prove that her career-making case from 28 years prior isn’t also her undoing. The series also stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Scarpetta's sister, Dorothy Farinelli. Additional cast includes Bobby Cannavale as Detective Pete Marino, Simon Baker as FBI profiler Benton Wesley, and Ariana DeBose as Kay’s tech-savvy niece Lucy Watson.  


ITV released a trailer for Gone, George Kay’s psychological drama starring Eve Myles and David Morrissey. Set against the backdrop of a prestigious private school, a foreboding forest, and the quiet sprawl of Bristol, Gone follows local Headmaster Michael Polly (Morrissey), who becomes the prime suspect in his wife Sarah’s disappearance. An upstanding member of the community, Michael is inscrutable and likes order and precision in his working life, but then he encounters gutsy Detective Annie Cassidy (Myles) and a compulsive game of cat and mouse begins as she chips away at his veneer in search of the truth. The series is inspired by the work of former Detective Superintendent for Gloucestershire Police, Julie Mackay, and ITV Crime Correspondent Robert Murphy, and partly inspired by their book, To Hunt A Killer.


The trailer that Prime Video released for its upcoming drama series, Young Sherlock, has racked up record views and become Prime Video’s most-watched series trailer ever within a seven-day period. The series chronicles the detective’s origin story, with Hero Fiennes Tiffin starring as the defiant sleuth who is framed for murder and gets involved in a global conspiracy that alters the course of his life. The series, which is based on Andrew Lane’s spin-off book series, also stars Dónal Finn, Zine Tseng, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Max Irons, and Colin Firth.


A trailer was also released for Spider-Noir. Nicolas Cage, who voiced the character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is bringing Spider-Noir to life in a live-action series for Prime Video, his first television series. All eight episodes of the season will be available to binge on May 27. The series tells the story of Ben Reilly (Cage), a seasoned, down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero.  The cast also includes Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Brendan Gleeson, Jack Huston, and Abraham Popoola.


PODCASTS/RADIO/AUDIO

On Spybrary, Spywrite's Jeff Quest sat down with Ace Atkins to dive deep into his nostalgic Cold War spy novel, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, a thrilling, 1980s-set espionage adventure that blends suburban coming-of-age storytelling with high-stakes KGB intrigue.


Tracy Sierra chatted with Paul Burke on Crime Time FM about her new psychological thriller, Warning Signs; true crime; tragedy through a lens; James Joyce; danger least expected, and more.


Murder Junction discussed Vaseem Khan's new locked room mystery novel, The Edge of Darkness, set in the Naga Hills district of 1950s India, and also took at look at the infamous Battle of the Tennis Court that took place in the region during WW2.


Author Kaira Rouda was interviewed by Olivia Fierro on the Poisoned Pen podcast about Rouda's new novel, We Were Never Friends.


Dr. Jen Prosser investigated an antidote made from the blood of scientists and a poisoning that occurs due to a lack of bile acids and good bacteria in the GI tract, on the Pick Your Poison podcast.