#FIRSTLOOK: “BOSTON STRANGLER” FILM COMING TO DISNEY+

“Boston Strangler,” 20th Century Studios true-crime thriller from writer-director Matt Ruskin about the trailblazing reporters who broke the story of the notorious Boston Strangler murders of the 1960s, will premiere March 17, 2023, exclusively on Disney+ under the Star banner in Canada.

“Boston Strangler” stars two-time Oscar® nominee Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game,” “Pride & Prejudice”), Emmy® nominee Carrie Coon (“Fargo,” “The Gilded Age”), Alessandro Nivola (“Amsterdam”), David Dastmalchian (“Dune”), Morgan Spector (“Homeland”), Bill Camp (“Joker”), and Academy Award® winner Chris Cooper (“Adaptation”). Written and directed by Matt Ruskin (“Crown Heights”), the film is produced by Ridley Scott (“The Martian”), Kevin J. Walsh (“House of Gucci”), Michael Pruss (“American Woman”), Josey McNamara (“Promising Young Woman”), and Tom Ackerley (“I, Tonya”), with Michael Fottrell (“The Fate of the Furious”) and Sam Roston serving as executive producers. Sam Roston will oversee for Scott Free and Bronte Payne for LuckyChap.

The film follows Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a reporter for the Record-American newspaper, who becomes the first journalist to connect the Boston Strangler murders. As the mysterious killer claims more and more victims, Loretta attempts to continue her investigation alongside colleague and confidante Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), yet the duo finds themselves stymied by the rampant sexism of the era. Nevertheless, McLaughlin and Cole bravely pursue the story at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.  

ABC Audio, a division of ABC News, will release a true crime companion podcast about the Boston Strangler ahead of the film’s debut on Disney+. The three-part narrative series will be hosted by award-winning journalist and former Boston Globe reporter Dick Lehr, who knew Loretta McLaughlin and has reported on the Boston Strangler case. The podcast will delve into the backstories and tragic fate of the victims linked to the Boston Strangler case and explore why these half-century-old killings remain the subject of so much fascination. It will be available for free on all major podcast platforms.