Elizabeth Banks to take on Karen Read role in high-stakes Prime video limited series? Check details

Prime Video is developing a limited series based on the Karen Read trial and Elizabeth Banks will executive produce and star in the new limited series. Based on the Law & Crime and Wondery podcast “Karen”, the project focusses on society’s obsession with true crime, the allure of conspiracy and the deepening crisis of trust in our institutions. It is written by showrunner Justin Noble.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elizabeth Banks is set to play the lead role and executive produce via her Brownstone Productions. The project comes from Warner Bros. Television and writer-showrunner Justin Noble (The Sex Lives of College Girls, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), with David E. Kelley also executive producing.

The potential series will explore “society’s obsession with true crime, the allure of conspiracy, and the deepening crisis of trust in our institutions,” per a logline.


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“When a Boston police officer is found dead in the snow, all eyes are on his girlfriend, Karen Read,” the logline states. “Fracturing a community, some believe she is guilty of first-degree murder, but others believe she’s the victim of a sweeping cover-up by state and local law enforcement.”

Karen Read series on Prime soon?

According to multiple US media reports, Prime Video and Warner Bros Television will work together on a new limited series set around the Karen Read trial, with Elizabeth Banks on board to play the woman at the center of the case.

Matt Tinker will exec produce through his David E. Kelley Productions banner along with Matt Tinker. Jen Sargent, Marshall Lewy, Aaron Hart and Jeni Mulein will exec produce through their Wondery banner, as will Rachel Stockman and Dan Abrams through their Law & Crime company, according to Deadline. Based on the Law & Crime and Wondery podcast Karen, the series follows the trial that captivated the country and turned Read into a household name.

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In June, Karen Read was acquitted by a jury on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. The ruling came during a retrial after her first trial ended with a hung jury in 2024.

The trial dominated morning talk shows, spawned multiple news specials, and even inspired a Netflix documentary—long before the final verdict was handed down. Following the acquittal, Read and her attorney, Alan Jackson, signed a partnership with “Killers of the Flower Moon” producer LBI Entertainment to adapt Read’s story for the screen.

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The latest collaboration with Prime Video comes after Banks starred in “The Better Sister.” Noble’s credits include “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Never Have I Ever” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” while Kelley’s credits include “Presumed Innocent” and “Big Little Lies.”

Elizabeth Banks recently wrapped Prime Video’s The Better Sister and is set to appear next in Peacock’s The Miniature Wife. She and Brownstone Productions are represented by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, and Johnson Shapiro. Noble is represented by WME and Hansen Jacobson, while Kelley is with CAA.