HBO orders Jeffrey Epstein series based on book by former Daily News reporter
Epstein’s death in a New York City jail cell in August was ruled a suicide. This week, however, a forensic pathologist hired by Epstein’s brother claimed that Epstein’s autopsy “points to homicide,” the New York Times reports.
Malvern-raised director Adam McKay will produce a limited series for HBO focusing on Jeffrey Epstein, with a little help from a former Daily News reporter.
McKay will produce the still-untitled series, which will be based on Bucks County native and ex-Daily news crime reporter Julie K. Brown’s upcoming book about the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, The Wrap reports. Brown’s reporting for the Miami Herald is credited with renewing the interest in Epstein’s case that led to his arrest for sex trafficking in July.
Epstein’s death in a New York City jail cell in August was ruled a suicide. This week, however, a forensic pathologist hired by Epstein’s brother claimed that Epstein’s autopsy “points to homicide,” the New York Times reports.
McKay’s upcoming series dealing with Epstein comes as part of a five-year first-look deal between HBO and the Philly-area native’s new production company, Hyperobject Industries. In addition to serving as a producer alongside Brown and longtime partner Kevin Messick, McKay will also direct the series’ pilot episode.
The project will be McKay’s latest work based on a true story. His 2015 The Big Short was about the 2008 financial crisis, and 2018’s Vice focused on the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney. In earlier stages of his career, McKay was known for goofy comedies like Anchorman (2004) and Step Brothers (2008).
McKay’s take is not the only Epstein project coming to television. As the AV Club reports, there are least three others in the works, including releases from SonyTV and LifeTime. However, Deadline has called the series “probably the highest-profile” upcoming television project dealing with the Epstein case.
Raised in Malvern, McKay also attended Temple University but dropped out before earning a bachelor’s degree, according to the Temple News. Brown, meanwhile, graduated from Temple’s journalism program in 1987, and was inducted into Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication’s Alumni Hall of Fame earlier this month.
A release date for McKay’s HBO series has not yet been announced.