NBC Passes on BC-Filmed Pilot MURDER BY THE BOOK with Retta
NBC has passed on a BC- filmed pilot Murder By the Book, starring Retta as an unlikely detective in a seaside town. The new book store set — The Curious Cat — built for the pilot in Steveston.
Hazel (Retta) is a big city Instafamous book reviewer who takes a page from the murder mystery books she reviews and becomes an unlikely detective to uncover the shocking truths about an eccentric seaside town.
Working title: Murder By the Book.
Filming dates: March 13 2023 – March 31 2023.
Writer/producers: Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs
Cast: Retta, Tituss Burgess, Tommy Dewey, Siobhan Williams, Elizabeth Yu, Hilda Martin.
Titus Burgess will play Andre, Hazel’s directionless younger brother who’s become Hazel’s publicist/manager/hype-man because he’s been fired from every other job he’s ever had.
Tommy Dewey will play Pete, a homicide detective who somehow has a gorgeous second home overlooking the bay on a government salary.
Siobhan Williams joins as Lori, an employee at the bookstore who proves to be an invaluable, if sometimes off center, ally in Hazel’s hunt for Maggie’s killer
The host of an Instagram book club featuring cozy murder mysteries with names like “Death and Doilies” and “Assault ‘N Pepper,” Hazel Hamilton (Ratta) is well equipped to handle a real life mystery when her long-ago best friend dies under mysterious circumstances.
Producers: Universal TV, Minnesota Logging Co.