There is a long and rich history of vital investigative journalism being transformed into gripping true crime drama. From Sophia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, to Jenifer Lopez and Constance Wu’s turns as scam artist strip club employees in Hustlers and, more recently, the dramatisation of fake heiress Anna Delvey’s escapades in Netflix’s Inventing Anna, long reads in The New York Times and Vanity Fair have gone on to make compelling series that have ignited all sorts of debates from our obsession with scam artists to our fascination with celebrity.

Now another viral piece of journalism is about to be transformed into a new true crime series. HBO will be adapting My Dentist’s Murder Trial, a 2017 piece in The New Yorker in to a limited series, starring Stranger Things’ David Harbour, who is also set to executive produce. 

The article by author and journalist James Lasdun became a fixture on our Twitter feeds after it was published, which follows Dr Gilberto Nunez, who as well as being Lasdun’s dentist was indicted in 2015 for killing his friend Thomas Kolman.

Kolman was found dead in the driving seat of his car outside a 24-hour gym in 2011 and his murder trial brought to light a whole host of details including “adultery, false identities and a lethal sedation”.

Writer Steve Conrad, also known for Patriot and Perpetual Grace, has been tasked with writing the series and bringing the article to life, which goes on to detail an affair between Dr Nunez and Kolman’s wife Linda, as well as Dr Nunez posing and sending fake messages as a CIA agent.

Dr Nunez, who is set to be played by The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal, according to Variety, was ultimately found innocent of murder. However, a dramatic trial and elusive evidence mean Lasdun is left pondering the gaping hole in the story of what happened.

“A syncope is a hidden rift or omission. The story of Thomas Kolman has its own syncope: the twenty-eight minutes he spent with someone in the darkness,” writes Lasdun in the piece. “Whoever it was must have some idea of how he died. One hopes that this figure will one day step out of the shadows.” Intriguing. 

It isn’t clear whether Harbour will play the victim, Kolman, or the article’s author, Lasdun, and further details about the series are yet to be released. But, if the heritage of investigative journalism-inspired true crime is anything to go by, this is one to put on your watch list. 

Images: Netflix; Getty