Amazon MGM Studios Greenlights Darkly Comic Murder-Mystery Series Starring Penn Badgley

a limited-series adaptation of Benjamin Stevenson’s bestselling novel. The story follows Ern Cunningham** (played by Penn Badgley), a mystery-writing expert who travels to a family reunion in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom to welcome his brother Michael home from prison—the same brother Ern helped convict. A frozen body is discovered and a snowstorm traps the family inside, prompting a cascade of deaths. The premise emphasizes that every member of Ern’s family has previously killed someone, whether intentionally or accidentally.

Express Tribune

Stevenson’s novel, first published by Mariner Books in 2022 (originally released in Australia in 2021), launched the Ernest Cunningham series, which now includes three sequels and a forthcoming fifth installment. The book has sold over a million copies in 29 territories and achieved bestseller status in Australia. An earlier attempt to develop the adaptation at HBO in 2022 did not move forward, after which Amazon MGM Studios revived the project.

Variety Magazine

• Penn Badgley — actor, lead (Ern Cunningham) and executive producer; known for the thriller series *You* and the CW drama *Gossip Girl*.

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• David Hemingson — showrunner, writer, and executive producer; Academy Award-nominee for *The Holdovers* and writer of *Kitchen Confidential*.

Deadline Hollywood

• Benjamin Stevenson — author and executive producer of the source material.

Hollywood Reporter

• Amazon MGM Studios — series order and global television division.

Variety Magazine

• Fifth Season and Made Up Stories — co-producers; both have previously collaborated on adaptations such as *The Good Daughter* (Peacock) and *Anatomy of a Scandal* (Netflix).

The Wrap

He highlighted the collaboration with Fifth Season and Made Up Stories as a key factor in the project’s ambition.

Variety Magazine

David Hemingson expressed enthusiasm for the adaptation, noting that Penn Badgley’s “magnetic presence” and the “sharp storytelling” of the script position the series as a distinctive offering for Prime Video.

You’s Penn Badgley & The Holdovers Writer Tapped for Prime Video’s New Murder Mystery TV Show

• The source novel has sold more than one million copies across 29 territories.

Deadline Hollywood

• The Ernest Cunningham series currently comprises four published books, with a fifth in development.

Deadline Hollywood

No release date for the series has been announced, and the exact number of episodes remains unspecified.

Deadline Hollywood

• “I’m thrilled to be partnered with Fifth Season and Made Up Stories in bringing Ben’s heartfelt and darkly hilarious whodunit to life,” — David Hemingson

Variety Magazine

• “I am blown away by the vision and enthusiasm everyone has for bringing this book, and Ernest Cunningham, to the screen,” — Benjamin Stevenson, author

Variety Magazine