Jessica Biel (The Sinner) and Elizabeth Banks (Call Jane) will exec produce and star in The Better Sister, a thriller based on the novel by Alafair Burke. In a competitive situation, the project has landed at Prime Video with a series order. It hails from Tomorrow Studios, which will co-produce with Amazon MGM Studios.
Olivia Milch (Ocean’s 8) and Regina Corrado (Mayor of Kingstown) serve as executive producers and showrunners on The Better Sister, which is meditating on the terrible things that drive sisters apart and ultimately bring them back together. This is the story of Chloe (Biel), who moves through the world with her handsome lawyer husband Adam and teenage son Ethan by her side while her estranged sister Nicky (Banks) struggles to stay clean and hustles to make ends meet. When Adam is brutally murdered, the prime suspect sends shockwaves through the family, laying bare long-buried secrets.
Craig Gillespie (Pam & Tommy) will direct the series and exec produce alongside Annie Marter through Fortunate Jack Productions. In addition to Milch and Corrado, additional EPs include Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, and Alissa Bachner through Tomorrow Studios (One Piece), as well as Banks, Biel and Michelle Purple. Additionally, author Burke is set to consult on the series.
“Beyond being an enticing thriller full of twists and turns, The Better Sister is a gripping story about family feuds and forgiveness,” said Amazon MGM Studios’ head of television, Vernon Sanders. “The brilliant duo of Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks are 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.”
Most recently starring as ax killer Candy Montgomery in the true crime limited series Candy, Biel prior to that earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for her work on The Sinner, along with nominations for her role as executive producer. Up next, she’s set to star opposite Ethan Hawke and Daniel Radcliffe in Batso, a film telling the true story of a trio of trailblazing climbers who, in the early 1970s, took on the most difficult route up iconic peak El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
Starring in such recent features as Call Jane and The Beanie Bubble, Banks also produced and directed last year’s hit Cocaine Bear for Universal, additionally producing MGM’s cult hit Bottoms. Next, she’ll be seen starring opposite Mickey Sumner in the medical drama A Mistake, and in the thriller Skincare directed by Austin Peters.
Previously co-writing Ocean’s Eight, Milch was a writer and consulting producer on Apple’s Hello Tomorrow! and also acted as consulting producer on Peacock’s Bupkis. An Emmy nominee, Corrado has written on and served on the producing teams of shows like Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Sons of Anarchy and The Strain, also exec producing Netflix’s Russian Doll.
Most recently directing Sony’s Dumb Money, the in-demand Gillespie’s upcoming slate includes Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Apple’s Your Friends and Neighbors, the Amazon rom-com 42.6 Years and a Cruella sequel, among other projects.
Biel is repped by UTA, LBI Entertainment, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Banks by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Milch by Atlas Artists, CAA, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Corrado by Literate Management/Production; and Gillespie by CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
