The dark comedy premieres Thursday.
Kate Beckinsale is looking for the truth.
The actress stars on Paramount+'s new dark comedy, Guilty Party, as beleaguered reporter Beth Burgess, who is desperate to salvage her career, latching on to the story of a young mother, Toni (Jules Latimer), who has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband, a crime she claims she didn’t commit. In trying to seek the truth, Beth finds herself in over her head as she contends with Colorado gun-smugglers, clickbait culture, the doldrums of marriage and her own tarnished past.
In ET's exclusive sneak peek from the premiere episode, one of two dropping Thursday, Beth comes across a letter Toni wrote to her from prison in hopes that she can help prove her innocence. Currently serving a 92-year sentence, Toni writes in her letter that she'd be OK serving it out if she had actually done the crime, but insists she didn't pull the trigger.
Beth's friend and colleague, knowing that name sounded familiar for a reason, looked her up and proudly exclaimed, after confirming her suspicions were right, that Toni is "the d**k cutter." "A few days before she killed him, she tried to hack off his d**k with a pair of kiddie safety scissors," she reveals in the clip. "She's a total loon."
That doesn't seem to deter Beth, however. As she continues to read Toni's letter, she's struck by something she wrote: "I know your work, Ms. Burgess, and I believe you're a genius and the last real journalist working in Denver... I know you can find the truth. And the truth will set us both free."
Is that enough for Beth to say yes to Toni's case? Our bet is yes.
ET's Matt Cohen spoke with Beckinsale about playing Beth, whom she said was an intriguing character to play. "There's something about her that is... She's a great woman but she has some emotionally-labeled reactions, like a toddler or teenager. She not been to therapy enough. She tends to be quite reactive and I think because she's in this desperate moment in her life, she does things that she's not fully thought through."
Guilty Party premieres with its first two episodes Thursday on Paramount+. For more, watch below.
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