Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen set to star in a series based on the murder of JonBenét Ramsey

Paramount+ has ordered a new crime series based on the infamous murder case from the 90s involving the murder of JonBenét Ramsey.

True crime is a morbid fascination for audiences. In the 90s, there would be made-for-TV movies that featured plots ripped straight out of the headlines and with the influx of quality in television programming, whether it be broadcast or streaming, the limited series format is proving to be an ideal way to tell these stories in dramatic format. Yesterday, a new trailer for the Ryan Murphy series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story premiered and The Hollywood Reporter is now reporting that another infamous 90s crime case will be getting its own series.

Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen are slated to star in a limited episode show about the murder of JonBenét Ramsey. The series is currently sporting the unofficial title, JonBenét Ramsey and it will be streaming on Paramount+. JonBenét Ramsey comes from Yellowstone producers MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, as well as showrunner Richard LaGravenese, known for Behind the Candelabra. LaGravense and the series’ creators Harrison Query and Tommy Wallach are also writing. McCarthy and Owen will play JonBenét’s parents, Patsy and John Ramsey.

The show’s description says the series will follow the family “as they go through the painful loss of a child while facing intense public scrutiny caused by a media frenzy that caused this case to captivate an entire nation. At the heart of the series, it is the story of Patsy and John Ramsey, exploring the unbreakable partnership of these two complex people — as husband and wife, as mother and father — who had committed themselves and their children to building the narrative of a perfect, privileged life only to have it destroyed one Christmas night in 1996.”

Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and president and CEO of Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios, spoke of the show’s stars, saying, “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.” 101 Studios CEO David Glasser adds the statement, “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.”

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.