Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks are set to star in a new thriller series at Prime Video.
“The Better Sister,” which is adapted from Alafair Burke’s novel of the same name, has been granted a series order by the streamer. Hailing from Tomorrow Studios and Amazon MGM Studios, Biel stars as Chloe while Banks plays her estranged sister, Nicky, who reenters Chloe’s life in the wake of a murder.
The official logline for the series reads: “Chloe moves through the world with her handsome lawyer husband Adam and teenage son Ethan by her side, while her estranged sister Nicky hustles to make ends meet while trying to stay clean. When Adam is brutally murdered, the prime suspect sends shockwaves through the family, laying bare long-buried secrets.”
“The Better Sister” adds to Biel and Banks’ existing slate of TV projects, with Biel’s limited thriller series, “The Good Daughter,” receiving a series order from Peacock in March, while Banks is set to star opposite Matthew Macfadyen in the Peacock dramedy, “The Miniature Wife,” which was also ordered to series in March.
“Beyond being an enticing thriller full of twists and turns, ‘The Better Sister’ is a gripping story about family feuds and forgiveness,” Amazon MGM Studios head of TV Vernon Sanders said in a statement. “The brilliant duo of Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks is sure to bring these characters to life in the most authentic way alongside Olivia, Regina, Craig and the talented team at Tomorrow Studios. The series is in the best hands to bring Alafair Burke’s original IP to life for our global Prime Video customers.”
Both Biel and Banks will also executive produce the series alongside Olivia Milch (“Ocean’s 8”) and Regina Corrado (“Mayor of Kingstown”), who serve as both executive producers and showrunners, while Craig Gillespie (“Pam & Tommy”) serves as director and EP.
“We are so grateful to Tomorrow Studios for supporting us as we’ve explored the world of this family,” Milch and Corrado said in a joint statement. “Craig Gillespie, who tells vital and bold stories of people willing to go to extremes, brought the perfect vision for the series. And we couldn’t feel luckier to have Jessica and Elizabeth, who have awed us with their rich and layered work, as partners bringing these sisters and their secrets to life.”
“I’m excited to be re-teaming with Tomorrow Studios on this taut psychological thriller,” Gillespie added. “When I read Olivia and Regina’s propulsive scripts, I knew I wanted to be a part of it, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with these two world class actresses for the first time. Watching them as rivaling sisters is going to be a blast.”
Additional EPs include Annie Marter through Fortunate Jack Productions, Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements and Alissa Bachner through Tomorrow Studios, and Biel’s producing partner, Michelle Purple.
“We are ecstatic to be adapting Alafair Burke’s captivating novel into a television series with Prime Video; this has been a true labor of love for the entire team at Tomorrow Studios,” Adelstein and Clements said. “The intricacies of sisterhood at every age are a dynamic we are all excited to explore inside of a taut thriller. It is a privilege to be working with showrunners as talented as Olivia Milch and Regina Corrado on the first project in our new venture with incomparable director and EP Craig Gillespie. We all feel so lucky to have landed Jessica and Elizabeth as our starring sisters and collaborators — a tour de force matchup in this propulsive new series.”
