In a competitive situation, Paramount+ has given out a straight-to-series order to the legal drama “Discretion” starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning, Variety has confirmed.
The project is based on the short story of the same name by Chandler Baker (“Whisper Network,” “The Husbands”) and will be produced by A24 for Paramount. The show has received an eight-episode order and will begin production in 2026.
The logline for the series states, “Lenny (Fanning), a summer associate at a prestigious Dallas law firm, uncovers a web of NDAs masking a dark truth. When she realizes she signed the same agreement, her discoveries put her in the crosshairs of the firm’s most powerful female partner Sharon (Kidman)—upending their mentor-protégé dynamic and raising the question: who gets to keep secrets, and at what cost?”
Baker is writing and executive producing the series, with both Kidman and Fanning executive producing in addition to starring. Susannah Grant (“Erin Brokovich,” “Unbelievable”) is also attached to executive produce. Kidman is executive producing via Blossom Films with Per Saari, while Fanning, her sister Dakota Fanning, and Brittany Kahan Ward executive produce for Lewellen Pictures. Jordan Cerf of Linden Entertainment and Joe Hipps of Cut To will also executive produce.
Kidman is repped by CAA, Media Talent Group, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Fanning is repped by UTA, TFC Management, and Hansen Jacobsen. Grant is repped by UTA and Lenore Entertainment Group. Baker is repped by CAA, Writers House, Linden, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
This marks the latest high-profile move by Cindy Holland, the chair of DTC for Paramount, and Jane Wiseman, head of originals for Paramount+, under the David Ellison regime. As previously reported, Holland was instrumental in bringing “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer over to Paramount with a massive four-year film and TV deal.
Likewise, Ellison shelled out $7.7 billion to lock up the rights to UFC events for the next seven years, making Paramount+ the exclusive streaming home of all UFC fights starting in 2026. Ellison also moved quickly to secure the Timothee Chalamet-James Mangold package “High Side,” which will see Chalamet play a former motocross racer who is drawn into a string of bank robberies.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
From Variety US