NBC’s Rashomon-inspired pilot taps Malin Akerman to star

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After considering a plethora of actors for the gig, NBC has tapped BILLIONS star Malin Akerman to lead the legal drama pilot for PRISM, an upcoming TV series inspired by Akira Kurosawa's 1950 Japanese period psychological thriller, RASHOMON. Arranged by Daniel and Ben Barnz’s We’re Not Brothers Productions, with Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz, PRISM is shaping up to become "a provocative exploration of a murder trial in which every episode is told through the perspective of a different key person involved. Each new version of the facts ratchets up the mystery and the suspense, calling into question everything we have seen so far and asking is the right person on trial? Driven by an ensemble of complicated characters, the show lets the audience ask if truth matters less than who can tell the most compelling story." (via Deadline)

Barnz will pen the series in addition to serving as the project's director. For the show, Akerman will play Rachel Lewis, a steadfast public defender whose reputation proceeds her as a ruthless champion of law and order. With regard to the show's presentation, NBC's PRISM is expected to adapt the "Rashomon Effect," a filming style that involves a variety of characters providing contradictory interpretations of the same incident. In other words, bring a notebook along for the show, if you plan to connect the dots before all is eventually revealed.

Akerman's casting comes as a result of her BILLIONS character, Lara, retiring as a series regular. While she'll remain a valued member of the cast, Lara will now appear in select episodes of the program, thereby providing Akerman with room in her schedule for both endeavors.