Lady in the Lake is an American period drama television miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Laura Lippman, and starring Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram. Set during the 1960s, Lady in the Lake begins in Baltimore, with the disappearance of a young Jewish girl, Tessie Durst, at a Christmas parade. The series premiered on Apple TV+ on July 19, 2024. The series was generally well received, with Portman and Ingram receiving acclaim for their performances.
In 1960s Baltimore, Maddie Schwartz, an investigative journalist working on an unsolved murder, clashes with a woman working to advance the agenda of the city's Black community. Maddie leaves her overbearing husband and Pikesville home to pursue a career as a newspaper reporter.
She becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery of two separate killings: those of eleven-year-old Tessie Durst and a bartender named Cleo Johnson.
The television series is based on the novel of the same name. Laura Lippman, the author, took inspiration from two real-life murders that happened in her youth. The first was the abduction and murder of 11-year-old Esther Lebowitz, a white Jewish girl whose case was widely publicized. The second death was of 33-year-old Shirley Parker, a Black mother and bartender who disappeared and whose body was found in the fountain of the Druid Hill Park Reservoir. Parker's death was covered only in African-American newspapers, specifically the Baltimore Afro-American.
The miniseries was given the greenlight in March 2021, with Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong'o set to star, and Alma Har'el set to direct all episodes of the series. In April 2022, Y'Lan Noel, Mikey Madison and Brett Gelman were added to the cast. In May 2022, Nyong'o exited the series. Moses Ingram was cast in June to replace her. Noah Jupe, Mike Epps, Byron Bowers. Josiah Cross and Pruitt Taylor Vince were added in July.
Filming began in April 2022, with production taking place in Baltimore. Production paused briefly in late August 2022, when the production purportedly received threats of violence while filming in the city. Police investigation showed the threats to have been unsubstantiated.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 75% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10, based on 65 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Dense with intriguing drama if too muddled by digressions and stylistic flourishes, Lady in the Lake is a well-acted mystery with a lot on its mind." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 61 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Natalie Portman received critical acclaim for her acting performance in the miniseries.
The series was nominated at the 23rd Visual Effects Society Awards in the category of Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode.