Laura Dern will star in a limited-series adaptation of Julie K. Brown’s Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, Variety reports.
The book, published in 2021 by Dey Street/HarperCollins, is the Miami Herald journalist’s account of reporting on the disgraced financier Epstein’s serial sexual abuse and trafficking of girls and women. A critic for Kirkus called the book “a sad, sordid tale and a tribute to dedicated investigative journalism.”
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to two prostitution charges as part of a deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta; Epstein avoided federal prosecution for sex trafficking under the deal. Brown reported on Epstein’s crimes in a series of reports that the Herald published in 2018; the following year, Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking. He died in prison less than three weeks later, with his death controversially ruled a suicide.
Dern will play Brown in the limited series, which is being developed by Sony Pictures Television. The series will be written by Sharon Hoffman, who has previously penned scripts for House of Cards and Pieces of Her. Executive producers of the series will include Dern, Hoffman, Brown, and Adam McKay, known for directing films including The Big Short and Don’t Look Up.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
