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Scarpetta: Cannavale & DeBose on Embracing Sarnoff's Vision & More

Bobby Cannavale and Ariana DeBose discuss joining Prime Video's Scarpetta, helping bring Showrunner Liz Sarnoff's vision to life, and more.

When Bobby Cannavale and Ariana DeBose signed for the Prime Video series Scarpetta, based on the Patricia Cornwell franchise of novels surrounding medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, from Liz Sarnoff, they knew they were becoming a part of something magical, not only as part of an ensemble cast, but also share the screen with stars and executive producers Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis, who play sisters Kay and Dorothy. Cannavale plays Pete Marino, an overly blunt former detective, who's married to Dorothy and still works with Kay on her cases, with his son Jake Cannavale playing the character's younger counterpart. DeBose plays Lucy Farinelli-Watson, Dorothy's daughter who's trying to find her place in life while coping with the loss of her wife (Janet Montgomery) and interacting with an AI version of her, living in a separate building on her mother's property.

Scarpetta chronicles Kay's life in the present and past lives as an ME, combining Cornwell's narratives that span multiple books as she solves various cases, relying on her advanced forensic techniques and intuition. The two-time Emmy winner and the Oscar winner spoke with Bleeding Cool about immersing themselves in Cornwell's work and how creator and showrunner Liz Sarnoff adapted their characters for the screen, working with powerhouses like Kidman and Curtis, and embracing the series female-driven energy.

Scarpetta Stars Bobby Cannavale and Ariana DeBose on Bringing Patricia Cornwell's Characters Pete Marino and Lucy Farinelli-Watson to Life

BC: Before getting cast, how familiar were you with Patricia's work, and what intrigued you about entering her world?

DeBose: Okay, you know what, I will be honest and say I had never read the books, but I'd seen the many billboards that have been up in Times Square, because Patricia is that iconic writer that created a whole world and spearheaded an entire genre that you get billboards when you do that. That's some badass stuff right there. Once I got the job, I did a little digging, but that's the long and the short of it for me.

Cannavale: Same here. I was familiar with her name, the series, and the many people in my life. Once I received the script, I started asking people, and I met so many who'd read those books (who are like), "Oh my God! I've read all of them," and I honestly had not read them. To be honest, like we get scripts, right? What was important was, "Were the scripts good?" That's where I think, as the genres came together really nicely, Liz's and Patricia's talents came together to write these dimensional characters for the screen, and that was what really impressed me.

What was it like working with Liz as a showrunner and creatively working with Nicole, Jamie Lee, and so forth? Did it feel like a dream team on set?

DeBose: Yeah, they kind of fly around like the Avengers of their own worlds, you know what I mean? Which is cool. I was friendly with Jamie Lee prior to starting to work with her, so it was just a nice way to continue that relationship and see her in action. Nicole is such a brilliant actress, and to also get a window and to her production company, Blossom Films, was really cool, because both she and Jamie are also producers on it.

As a young woman in the industry. I look to other women like that to see how they're doing it. I take notes, and as far as Liz Sarnoff goes, she's a genius. I felt so supported by her. It's not every day that I personally choose to take on an LGBTQ character, I'm very careful about who I align myself with, and Liz really took care of Lucy in a way that I felt very deeply and it's the writing is not only great but it's filled with deep respect for these characters, all of them, and the original subject matter, or the IP rather.

Cannavale: I had the same experience. I had worked with Nicole before [on Nine Perfect Strangers]. The fact that they were all women is wonderful, but I didn't feel like that Star Trek episode where like the two guys end up on an island of women, and they don't know what to do with themselves, like I'm used to working with brilliant, smart boss women, and we had no shortage of them. I've worked with Nicole before. Jamie, I'd never met but Jamie got in touch with me via text, that's how I knew about this job.

DeBose: That's what she does.

Cannavale: She reached out to me and said, "You want to play my husband in something?" I was like, "Yes, what is it?" Then I met Liz Sarnoff, who's a genius. The way that she took these stories and made them dimensional in a different way for a viewer is extraordinary work, so the fact that they're women doesn't really…that's an old story. They're running the show here, and they should be running shows. Their collective experience is so vast. Anybody would be lucky to be a part of a show like this.

DeBose: What he said!

Blumhouse and Amazon MGM Studios' Scarpetta, which also stars Rosy McEwen, Simon Baker, Hunter Parrish, Amanda Righetti, and Savannah Lumar, is available on Prime Video.

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