Penn Badgley to Star in ‘Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone’

If you have read Benjamin Stevenson’s runaway bestseller Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, you will know that narrator Ern Cunningham requires a very specific kind of actor. He needs to be witty, self-aware, sharp-tongued, and just neurotic enough to drag readers through a locked-room murder mystery where every member of his dysfunctional family holds a body count. Now, Amazon MGM Studios has officially ordered the television series adaptation for Prime Video, securing You star Penn Badgley to lead the show as Ern.

The dark comedy whodunit will see Badgley step out of Joe Goldberg’s stalker boots and into the shoes of a true-crime enthusiast and self-published author who attends a treacherous family reunion at a snowy ski resort. I think this casting lands brilliantly. Badgley has spent years perfecting internal monologue and morally grey charm, making him a fantastic choice to deliver Ern’s break-the-fourth-wall narration.

Finding the Right Ern Cunningham

Stevenson’s 2022 book quickly became a global publishing phenomenon, selling rights into 26 countries after taking readers by storm. What sets the novel apart is its meta-narrative structure: Ern acts as a strict literary purist, laying out the rules of classic detective fiction early on and constantly reminding the audience that he will never lie to them. Translating that kind of direct-to-reader intimacy to television is tricky, much like balancing changing character arcs in literary adaptations with complex internal perspectives.

Showrunner David Hemingson seems confident that Badgley is the missing piece to make the format work on screen. Speaking about the casting, Hemingson said:

“And we are so lucky to have Penn as our lead. I can’t think of any actor better suited to bring Ern’s intensity, brilliance and hilariously dry sense of humor to life.”

If you are new to the series, Ern’s charm lies in his dry honesty amidst total chaos. While Badgley gained widespread fame playing a serial killer on Netflix, putting that same intense internal focus into an actual detective figure trying to solve murders rather than commit them is a fantastic twist.

The Long Road to the Screen

The journey to production has had a few plot twists of its own. Early reporting around the time of the book’s release indicated that HBO had optioned the rights alongside production companies Made Up Stories and Endeavour Content. However, the project has officially landed at Amazon MGM Studios as a series order for Prime Video.

Hemingson, who earned critical acclaim for writing The Holdovers, serves as showrunner and executive producer. Combining Hemingson’s knack for warm yet acerbic character dynamics with Stevenson’s clever plotting gives the project a solid creative foundation. Like recent news surrounding high-profile literary screen adaptations starring major names, this setup shows streamers are leaning heavily into established book club favourites with star-driven casts.

What to Expect from the Series

At its core, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone plays by the Golden Age rules of murder mystery fiction, specifically Knox’s Decalogue, while poking fun at the genre’s tropes. When Ern’s estranged family gathers at a remote mountain retreat, a frozen corpse turns up, setting off a sequence of revelations where everyone turns out to have blood on their hands in one way or another.

If the creative team manages to keep Ern’s snarky relationship with the audience intact, Prime Video could have a massive hit on its hands. Mystery fans looking for a fresh spin on classic whodunits should definitely keep an eye on this one as production ramps up.