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A dream team has assembled to bring a scripted series based on the book \u201cPerversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> Story\u201d from the drawing board to the small screen.<\/p>\n Oscar-winning actor Laura Dern<\/a> has signed on to portray Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, whose tireless reporting on the Epstein sex-trafficking case exposed how federal prosecutors approved what many have referred to as a \u201csweetheart\u201d plea deal for Epstein in 2008. <\/p>\n Per Variety<\/a>, the official description of the series reads: \u201can explosive account of an investigative reporter exposing the secret plea deal between Epstein and federal prosecutors. Drawing from Brown\u2019s experience as a groundbreaking reporter for the Miami Herald, the book and the limited series follow her relentless years-long investigation that identified 80 victims, persuaded key survivors to go on the record, and led to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell\u2019s<\/a> arrests.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2008, the financier was charged<\/a> with luring underage girls to his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion for sex. Under the plea agreement with then United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Alexander Acosta, Epstein avoided a federal trial \u2014 where, if convicted, he could have faced a potential sentence of life in prison \u2014 and pleaded guilty instead to two state felony solicitation charges.<\/p>\n He served 13 months in a county jail but was allowed to go to his office six days a week on a work release program.<\/p>\n Co-showrunners for the project are Eileen Myers, known for \u201cAmerican Hostage,\u201d and Sharon Hoffman, best known for her work on \u201cHouse of Cards\u201d; the latter is adapting the book for television. Dern will also executive produce, as well as Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, known for \u201cThe Big Short,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Look Up\u201d and \u201cSuccession<\/a>.\u201d Brown is also executive producing.<\/p>\n Although Sony Pictures Television is still pitching the series to networks and streamers, industry insiders predict that, with Dern and McKay on board, a green light is on the horizon. <\/p>\n