Prime Video's #1 Hit Has 44% on RT, but It's Actually One of Nicole Kidman's Worst Career Moves

With Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis on the same project, what could possibly go wrong? They are both Oscar-winning actresses and series producers who are personally invested in the project's success.

However, Scarpetta, based on Patricia Cornwell's novels, turned out to be a disaster – its 44% score on Rotten Tomatoes is too high for what the show offers viewers.

Despite topping the platform's charts, Scarpetta is a tedious hodgepodge of detective cliches, endless family squabbles, and outdated artistic tropes.

What Is 'Scarpetta' About?

2016, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta is awakened in the middle of the night when the mutilated body of a girl with severed hands is found in the woods near railroad tracks. The pattern matches a series of murders committed 28 years earlier for which a serial killer had been convicted.

Could Scarpetta have been mistaken, and has the real killer been at large all this time? Scarpetta teams up with retired police officer Pete to solve the new crime.

Meanwhile, we see flashbacks to 1998 when a young Scarpetta is just beginning her career and meeting Pete and her future husband.

'Scarpetta' Dives Into Endless Flashbacks & Family Squabbles, Forgetting About the Detective Story

From the very beginning, Scarpetta stuns viewers with its time jumps. Between 1998 and 2016 and back again, it's hard to keep track of the chronology, and it's not worth the effort.

The family drama occupies nearly as much screen time as the investigation. Kay and her sister, Dorothy, quarrel over past grievances, Lucy is codependent with her aunt, and everyone lives in the same mansion, spending days sorting out their relationships.

These scenes resemble a cheap soap opera more than a detective thriller.

Midway through the season, the creators decide to add a second case involving espionage. The hodgepodge of Cornwell's two books – her 1990 debut and 2021's Autopsy – turns into a terrifying mess where neither storyline receives proper development.

Not Even Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis Could Save This Flop

Nicole Kidman plays her role with an extremely serious demeanor, as if she were performing in a Shakespearean tragedy. In contrast, Jamie Lee Curtis' character seems like a caricature because she overacts so much.

The editing and cinematography also leave much to be desired. There are drawn-out shots of tense faces and flashbacks of the victims' torture that don't add suspense but are irritating instead.

Scarpetta uses outdated tropes from 1990s and 2000s shows, but mixes them in such a way that the result is parody, not nostalgia.

Scarpetta is a rare case in which a stellar cast and production team don't produce even average results – it's a disappointing spectacle not worth your time.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Scarpetta'?

• Scarpetta has 69% from critics and 44% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the series has a score of 5.9/10.