Elizabeth Banks to Star and Produce Prime Video Limited Series on High-Profile Trial

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 28, 2025 (IANS) - Actress and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks has been tapped to portray Karen Read and serve as an executive producer on an upcoming true-crime limited series in development at Prime Video and Warner Bros. Television.

Based on the acclaimed podcast Karen, which chronicled the controversial court case of Read-accused of murdering her boyfriend, a Boston police officer found dead in the snow-the project explores “society’s obsession with true crime, the allure of conspiracy, and the deepening crisis of trust in our institutions.” Read was ultimately acquitted of murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene but convicted of driving under the influence and sentenced to one year of probation.

The series will be showrun by Justin Noble (The Sex Lives of College Girls) and executive produced by David E. Kelley (Boston Legal, The Practice), alongside Banks’ Brownstone Productions partner Max Handelman and Krissy Wall. Additional executive producers include Jen Sargent, Marshall Lewy, Aaron Hart and Jeni Mulein from Wondery, as well as Rachel Stockman and Dan Abrams from Law & Crime.

Banks, celebrated for her roles in The Hunger Games franchise and Pitch Perfect, also directed the 2023 horror-comedy hit Cocaine Bear. Her involvement as both star and producer underscores her growing influence behind the camera as well as in front of it.