Hello everyone! Jamie Lee Curtis sent a jokey text to Ariana DeBose from the set of Freakier Friday, and that one message ended up landing DeBose a role in a Prime Video drama.
Curtis shared the story on Instagram this week to mark her final day of shooting season two. The show is called Scarpetta. It’s an adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s beloved crime novel series, and it’s heading to Prime Video to bring one of fiction’s most iconic characters into living rooms everywhere.
The text, by Curtis’s own account, was about as casual as casting calls get. She wrote to DeBose: “New phone, who dis? JK! LOL! I’m doing a TV show with Nicole Kidman based on the books by Patricia Cornwell called, Scarpetta. Do you want to play my daughter?” Curtis typed that out from the Freakier Friday set, somewhere between takes.
DeBose said yes right away. Curtis described it as an “enthusiastic, YES.” Now back in Tennessee wrapping season two, she’s clearly glad it worked out. “I am so grateful that she did say YES because she has brought us all her artistry and humor and spice,” Curtis wrote.
The two stars also ended up as literal neighbors on set. They shared a wall between their dressing rooms during production. Curtis called that setup one of the highlights of the whole shoot. “I shared a dressing room wall with her in our two banger, and it was thrilling to brush my teeth hearing her sing her favorite songs,” she added.
It’s a sweet detail. Two seriously talented women, practically side by side, working to bring a beloved book series to the screen.
Scarpetta is based on Patricia Cornwell’s long-running crime series following forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta. Cornwell published the first novel in 1990. The books have attracted millions of devoted readers over the decades since. Seeing those stories finally make their way to a major streaming platform is going to be a meaningful moment for Cornwell fans everywhere.
Nicole Kidman joins Curtis in the series, with DeBose now confirmed as playing Curtis’s on-screen daughter. Kidman has a strong track record with acclaimed TV work, so her presence here signals that Prime Video is taking this project seriously.
DeBose won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in West Side Story back in 2022. She’s been steadily building her portfolio across film and television. A high-profile role opposite Curtis and Kidman in a prestige streaming series is a real step forward.
Curtis wrapped her season two shoot this week in the Tennessee heat. Her Instagram post felt far more personal than a standard wrap-day announcement. She called out DeBose’s “artistry and humor and spice” and described the dressing room wall moment as “thrilling.” That was genuine feeling from a co-star, not promotional copy.
Season one of Scarpetta hasn’t aired yet. No premiere date has been announced. But with season two already filmed, Prime Video is clearly moving fast. Cornwell fans have waited a long time to see Kay Scarpetta on screen. Now they have something real to look forward to.
