Anatomy of a Scandal book

Netflix has greenlit Anatomy of a Scandal, an anthology series from the creator of HBOs Big Little Lies David E. Kelley and former House of Cards showrunner Melissa James Gibson. The first season will be based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Sarah Vaughan. Each season is set to explore a different large-scale public scandal. Heres what we know so far.

The series was first announced via a Netflix press release back in May 2020. The series comes from 3dot Productions who are also currently working on a U.S. Womens Soccer documentary.

Netflix has ventured into anthology series before with the most notable ones being Black Mirror (currently on hold) and The Haunting of Hill House (and Bly Manor due out in October)

Attached to the project is director S.J. Clarkson, who directed episodes for HBOs Succession and the unaired Game of Thrones pilot and Netflixs Jessica Jones and Orange is the New Black. Clarkson was nominated for a Gold Derby award for the latter.

The original 2017 novel by Sarah Vaughan tells the story of two women and one man caught up in a very ugly public scandal. James, a high-ranking Westminster politician stands accused of rape, but his wife Sophie believes he is innocent. Kate is the barrister prosecuting the case and she is convinced James is guilty and must pay for his crime. Not everything is crystal clear in this court case and that complicates things for everyone. The plot tackles such things as marriage in an extremely turbulent situation and tense courtroom drama.

Sienna Miller and Michelle Dockery

Currently no cast members are officially announced for the first season of Anatomy of a Scandal. That being said, Recapped, a very reliable source that has never been wrong before, claims that the two leads have already been cast.

According to them, Sophie and Kate will be played by BAFTA and Golden Globes nominee Sienna Miller, known for her roles in American Sniper and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra and Primetime Emmy Awards nominee Michelle Dockery, who is known for her roles in such series as ITVs Downton Abbey and Netflixs Godless. At the moment, we dont know which one of them plays Sophie and which one is Kate.

The first season of Anatomy of a Scandal will have six one-hour episodes.

Production for Anatomy of a Scandal is currently planned to begin in Fall 2020 at Shepperton Studios, UK.

While no dates have been announced or even hinted at, based on the production schedule, episode count and production complexity (no high-budget VFX required), we can assume Anatomy of a Scandal might be released on Netflix in Summer/Fall 2021.

Thats all we know so far, well keep this preview updated as and when we learn more.

Excerpt from:
Anatomy of a Scandal: Everything We Know So Far About the New Anthology Series - What's on Netflix