Laura Dern Takes On the First-Ever Scripted Series About the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal
A TV series on the investigation into disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is in the works at Sony Pictures Television, based on Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown’s 2021 book Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story, with Variety first reporting the project in March 2026.
If you figured the Jeffrey Epstein saga had already been mined from every angle, here comes a new lane: a scripted series about the reporting that cracked the case back open.
What Sony is Making
Sony Pictures Television is developing a limited series based on Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown's 2021 book 'Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story.' Variety first reported the project in March 2026. This is the first scripted take on the Epstein scandal after years of documentaries.
The Hook
'An explosive account of an investigative reporter exposing the secret plea deal between Epstein and federal prosecutors.'
That is the basic pitch. The show tracks Brown's years-long investigation that re-centered national attention on Epstein a decade after his 2008 Florida arrest and controversial plea deal for child sex offenses.
So, What Will It Cover?
Brown began digging into Epstein in 2017. Over time, she found more than 80 women who alleged they were victimized by him, and convinced eight to go on the record for a three-part Miami Herald series in 2018. That work helped reignite the case in a very public way. Epstein was arrested again in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges, then died by suicide the following month at age 66 while in custody at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center awaiting trial. Brown's book arrived in 2021, two years after his death, expanding on her reporting — and the series plans to follow that roadmap, including how renewed pressure ultimately led to the arrests of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Who Is Attached
- Laura Dern will star as Julie K. Brown.
- Executive producers: Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, along with Laura Dern and Julie K. Brown.
- Eileen Myers will executive produce and serve as co-showrunner.
- Sharon Hoffman will executive produce, co-showrun, and adapt Brown's book for TV.
- Studio: Sony Pictures Television.
What We Still Don't Know
No network or streamer is attached yet, so release timing is a mystery. The rest of the cast also hasn't been announced. Translation: this is early, but not vapor — the creative team is real, the source material is strong, and Dern playing Brown is a sharp fit.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.