Penn Badgley to lead Amazon dark comedy murder mystery
DIRECT ANSWER: Amazon has greenlit a series adaptation of Benjamin Stevenson's bestseller Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, with Penn Badgley set for the lead role as Ernest Cunningham. The You star will also executive produce the darkly comedic murder mystery for Prime Video, with Oscar nominee David Hemingson writing and showrunning.
With Penn Badgley to lead Amazon's latest genre-bending whodunit, the streaming giant is betting on a proven TV antihero to anchor a story where every family member already has blood on their hands. The greenlight marks a high-profile reunion for Badgley and Amazon MGM Studios after years of murder-driven drama elsewhere.
Key Takeaways
- Amazon greenlit Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone with Penn Badgley starring and executive producing.
- David Hemingson (The Holdovers) will adapt Benjamin Stevenson's novel and serve as showrunner.
- The darkly comedic series follows mystery writer Ern Cunningham at a deadly family reunion in Vermont.
- Fifth Season and Made Up Stories are co-producing; author Stevenson also joins as an executive producer.
- A prior HBO limited-series version in 2022 did not move forward.
What Is 'Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone' About?
According to the official logline, the series is set deep in the dense mountains of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. It follows Ern Cunningham (Badgley), a mystery-writing expert who reluctantly attends a family reunion to welcome his brother Michael home from prison—the same brother Ern helped convict.
When a frozen body appears and a snowstorm traps everyone inside, the deaths begin to mount. The premise states that everyone in his family has already killed someone, either by accident or otherwise.
Stevenson's novel was originally published by Mariner Books in 2022 and became a bestseller in Australia through Penguin Random House in 2021. It is the first in the Ernest Cunningham book series, with four sequels published or in development.
Who Is Behind the Production?
Academy Award nominee David Hemingson, known for The Holdovers and Kitchen Confidential, is attached to adapt the murder mystery book and serve as showrunner and executive producer. Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, and Jeanne Snow of Made Up Stories will also executive produce alongside Badgley and Stevenson.
Fifth Season and Made Up Stories will co-produce the series for Amazon MGM Studios. Peter Friedlander, head of global television at Amazon MGM Studios, called the project "brilliantly inventive" and said it subverts the murder mystery genre in unexpected and entertaining ways.
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Why Did the Series Move From HBO to Amazon?
A limited-series adaptation of the book was previously in development at HBO in 2022 with Made Up Stories and Fifth Season (then Endeavor Content) producing. That version ultimately did not go forward.
Amazon MGM Studios has now picked up the project, reuniting Made Up Stories and Fifth Season on a book-based series. The two companies have previously collaborated on shows including Nine Perfect Strangers at Hulu, Anatomy of a Scandal at Netflix, and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart at Prime Video.
What Does This Mean for Penn Badgley's Career?
Badgley is no stranger to murder and intrigue on television. He previously starred as killer Joe Goldberg in Netflix's hit series You for five seasons, with the show airing its final season in 2025. He also played a major role in The CW drama Gossip Girl.
Beyond TV, Badgley will star in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios romcom You Deserve Each Other opposite Meghann Fahy. That film is also based on a book and produced by Fifth Season.
Variety first reported the greenlight and cast attachment. Hemingson said he could not think of any actor better suited to bring Ern's "intensity, brilliance and hilariously dry sense of humor" to life.
Stevenson added that Badgley "perfectly captures Ern's clueyness and cleverness," while Hemingson has brought "bags of wit and heart" to the script. A premiere date has not been announced.