Paramount+ greenlights series on chilling JonBenét Ramsey case featuring two Oscar nominees
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion is advised.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: An eight-episodic series exploring the chilling murder case of six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey is in the works. Paramount+ has greenlit the limited series featuring Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen in lead roles.
Academy Award nominee Richard LaGravenese will be serving as showrunner and executive producer, confirms Forbes. The highly anticipated project will be produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.
When will the series on JonBenét Ramsey's case be released?
As Paramount+ has confirmed the series under the working title of JonBenét Ramsey, we expect it to go floors soon. The production will begin in Calgary, Canada. Though a tentative release date hasn't yet been revealed, we can expect the series to arrive by early 2026.
Melissa McCarthy, the two-time Academy Award nominee will reprise the role of Patsy Ramsey, the mother of the victim's girl. Patsy was an American beauty pageant winner who became a prime suspect in the killing of her daughter.
Clive Owen, who was nominated for an Academy Award for 'Closer' will play the victim's father, John Bennett Ramsey. Owen was most recently seen in crime series 'A Murder at the End of the World' (2023) and 'Monsieur Spade' (2024).
“JonBenét Ramsey continues to be one of the country's most fascinating unsolved murders,” said Jeff Grossman, EVP of Programming at Paramount+. “The incredible talent of Melissa McCarthy, Clive Owen and the creative team led by Richard LaGravenese will illuminate her story with the acuity and nuance it deserves,” he was further quoted by Forbes.
Who was JonBenét Ramsey?
JonBenét Ramsey was born on August 6, 1990, in Atlanta, Georgia. She was a child beauty queen, following the steps of her mother Patsy, who was herself a beauty pageant winner at the age of 20.
She was six when she was reported missing on December 25, 1996. Seven hours later, her father found her dead in the basement of her family's home in Colorado. JonBenét had a skull fracture about two and a half hours before she died from strangulation. A garrote was found around her neck. The autopsy confirmed she died from strangulation and head injury, as per The Denver Post. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Who killed JonBenét Ramsey?
A two-and-a-half-page handwritten ransom note was found on the kitchen staircase demanding US$118,000. John pointed out that the amount mentioned was similar to his Christmas bonus of the previous year. And therefore, the police started looking into the employees at John's office.
Later FBI told the police that the ransom note was staged as it was too long to be written at the crime scene, according to a report by Fox 2 Now. The note had no fingerprints except for Patsy's and the authorities who had handled it. It was also found out that the note was written with a pen and notepad from Ramsey's residence. The experts ruled out the possibility of being written by an outsider, which brought the suspicion on Patsy. However, the court ruled out this possibility.
Patsy and John spent a decade trying to defend themselves against the allegation by mentioning that an intruder killed their daughter. Patsy died on June 24, 2006, due to Stage 4 Ovarian cancer. JonBenét's murder case remains an open investigation to this day.
As per the logline of the Paramount+ series, “The Ramsey family, before and after the tragedy 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, 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.”