Paramount+, the streaming service has won a fierce bidding war to greenlight Discretion, a new legal thriller series. The project, which received a straight-to-series order, will star Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning, who will also serve as executive producers. The high-profile show is one of the first major original series greenlit under the streamer’s new leadership and is scheduled to begin production in 2026.
The Plot and The Players
Discretion is an eight-episode legal thriller that centers on a prestigious Dallas law firm where dark secrets are buried under a web of non-disclosure agreements. Fanning will play Lenny, a summer associate at the firm who uncovers this hidden truth. The situation becomes personal when she realizes she has signed the same kind of agreement, putting her directly in the crosshairs of the firm’s most powerful female partner, Sharon, played by Kidman.
This dynamic upends their mentor-protégé relationship and forces the audience to ask: who gets to keep secrets, and at what cost? The series is based on a short story by Chandler Baker, who will write the adaptation. Baker, who holds a law degree and previously worked as a corporate attorney, is drawing from her own experiences. Susannah Grant, the Oscar-nominated writer behind Erin Brockovich, is also on board as an executive producer.
A Competitive Streaming Land Grab
The path to Paramount+ for Discretion was highly competitive. The packaged project, put together by the independent studio A24, sparked a bidding war among seven different streamers when it hit the market. Paramount+ ultimately secured the rights, marking a significant statement of intent from its new management.
This series is the first official greenlight for Paramount+ since its parent company was acquired by Skydance. The move was spearheaded by Cindy Holland, Paramount’s new Direct-to-Consumer chair, and Jane Wiseman, Head of Originals for Paramount+. Holland’s deep industry relationships, built over her 18-year tenure at Netflix, are believed to have been crucial in landing the project. This victory echoes a similar situation from over a decade ago when Holland and executive producer Joe Hipps collaborated on the sale of House of Cards to Netflix, a deal that helped define the original programming strategy for the then-fledgling streamer.
A Reunion for Kidman and Fanning
Discretion will reunite Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning on screen, adding another project to their growing list of collaborations. The two actresses have previously shared the screen in Sofia Coppola’s southern gothic thriller The Beguiled and the sci-fi romantic comedy How To Talk To Girls At Parties. They are also both starring in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
Both stars have packed schedules. Kidman recently wrapped production on Practical Magic 2 and is preparing for the third season of the Paramount+ series Lioness. Fanning, coming off her role in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, is currently filming The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping and has Predator: Badlands on the horizon.
A New Content Strategy for Paramount+
The acquisition of Discretion signals a clear shift in programming strategy for Paramount+ under its new leadership. The streamer is now actively seeking premium content from outside suppliers, a departure from its previous model of relying mostly on its own sister studios for scripted shows. Sources indicate that Holland and Wiseman had been specifically looking for premium, female-driven drama series to complement the male-skewing hit shows from Taylor Sheridan, such as Yellowstone.
A24 acquired the rights to Baker’s yet-to-be-published short story in a highly competitive situation, with a reported seven-figure purchase price. The studio then quickly attached Kidman and Fanning to star and brought in Grant to executive produce. The entire process, from the short story hitting the marketplace to a series order, took less than four months—an exceptionally fast turnaround in today’s television industry.
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