Paramount+ Orders Original JonBenét Ramsey Series

Paramount+ has commissioned an original limited series about JonBenét Ramsey, with Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Clive Owen (Closer) attached to star.

The new drama will explore the unsolved 1996 murder of 6-year-old Ramsey by following her family before and after the tragedy. McCarthy and Owen will play her parents, Patsy and John, who had committed themselves and their children to building the narrative of a perfect, privileged life, only for it to be destroyed on Christmas.

The series is being produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, with Richard LaGravenese (Behind the Candelabra) as showrunner. Four of the eight episodes, including the first, will be directed by Anne Sewitsky (Presumed Innocent).

Executive producers for the series include Sewitsky, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, McCarthy and writers LaGravense, Harrison Query and Tommy Wallach. Query and Wallach sold the project to MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.

“Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen are an extraordinary duo to delve into this tragic story that has cast a long, haunting shadow over American culture for nearly three decades,” said Chris McCarthy, co-CEO of Paramount Global and president and CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios.

“JonBenét Ramsey continues to be one of the country’s most fascinating unsolved murders,” commented Jeff Grossman, executive VP of programming at Paramount+. “The incredible talent of Melissa McCarthy, Clive Owen and the creative team led by Richard LaGravenese will illuminate her story with the acuity and nuance it deserves.”

Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios, added, “We have been working to bring this thought-provoking and bold project to audiences for some time now and could not be happier with the top-notch team working in front of and behind the camera.”