Anne Hathaway Stars In ‘Fear Not’ Limited Series Ordered By Paramount+ From Bash Doran & MGM Television

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount+ has greenlighted Fear Not, a six-part limited series starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada). The project, from writer Bash Doran (Boardwalk Empire), Steve Stark’s Toluca Pictures (Wednesday) and MGM Television, is based on the 2023 Vanity Fair article “True Crime, True Faith: The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him.”

Fear Not was one of the first big buys for the new Paramount+ regime, led by Cindy Holland, Direct-to-Consumer chair for Paramount, and Jane Wiseman, Head of Originals for Paramount+. It originally landed at the streamer in a competitive situation in early September, just a couple of weeks after Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount Global was completed August 7.

Written by Doran, Fear Not tells the story of prolific serial killer Stephen Morin — accused of more crimes than Ted Bundy — and the unlikely bond he formed with Margy Palm (Hathaway), the last woman he ever kidnapped. Morin’s abduction of Palm, which started as a deadly captive situation, took an unlikely turn; one which included compassion, prayer, and profound courage. Palm’s devotion to her faith and her insistence that Morin could be transformed, became the impetus of a relationship that lasted long after Palm was returned to safety — until Morin received the death penalty.

Produced by MGM Television, Fear Not is executive produced by Doran; Stark and Stacey Levin for Toluca Pictures; Helen Estabrook for Vanity Fair Studios; Anne Hathaway, Adam Shulman and Johnathan Rice for Somewhere Pictures; and Margy, Bart and Noelle Palm.

For Doran, this marks the third green light in five months, joining pilot orders for Foster Dade at Hulu and How To Survive Without Me at HBO Max, both with Greg Berlanti.

“At Paramount+, we are always looking for stories that captivate and entertain our audience, and this series will do exactly that,” Wiseman said. “By grounding this chilling true story in the lived experience of our protagonist, Anne is bringing a level of nuance and gravity to the screen that only a performer of her caliber can. We are thrilled to collaborate with Anne, Bash and the rest of this illustrious team and we can’t wait for viewers to see what is sure to be an enthralling limited series.”

Fear Not‘s path to the screen started in October 2023 with a heated bidding war for the rights to VF’s article, which appeared in the magazine’s September print issue under the headline “Sympathy For the Devil.” It was won for MGM Television by studio-based Toluca Pictures after partnering with Hathaway’s Somewhere Pictures. Doran was brought in as a writer for the project, which was initially set up for script development at MGM Television’s sibling Prime Video under the previous Amazon MGM Studios regime.

After the streamer opted not to proceed with Fear Not, the package — now including a finished pilot script by Doran — was taken out. It was pursued by two major streamers. Paramount+ ultimately prevailed, putting the project on fast-track development and commissioning a pilot script rewrite, a backup script and a bible for the series.

It took awhile for deals to close between the Amazon-owned MGM Television and the Paramount streamer. In the meantime, development continued in the background, with all the materials delivered in December. Like with many high-profile packages, I hear there was a clock on Paramount+ making a greenlight decision, which, in this case was at least in part driven by Hathaway’s limited availability. According to sources, the one opening in her feature schedule that would work for Fear Not is in the fall, giving the proceedings urgency in order to make that window.

In a vote of confidence, I hear the answer came pretty quickly and ahead of the deadline right after the holiday break, with Paramount+ giving Fear Not a straight-to-series order. It brings back together Holland and her former Netflix executive Peter Friedlander, who oversees MGM Television as Amazon MGM Studios’ new Head of Global TV.

Fear Not joins two other series orders by the new regime at Paramount+. That includes the October pickup of A24’s legal drama Discretion starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning, which Paramount+ won in bidding war. Both projects are female-driven thrillers, a priority genre for the streamer’s new leadership as they are expanding the slate to compliment Sheridan’s largely male-skewing series.

Also in October, Paramount+ formally greenlighted 9/12, a six-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Jeremy Strong, which had been in the works at Skydance Television.

As depicted in Miller’s piece, Margy Palm, a religious Texas mother, was abducted by Stephen Morin outside of a Kmart while shopping for Christmas gifts on Dec. 11, 1981. She spent eight hours as Morin’s hostage before convincing him to set her free by appealing to him through a discussion of her faith. The unlikely friendship that developed resulted in Margy visiting Stephen there more than a dozen times in prison before he was executed by lethal injection in 1985 at age 34.

This marks a rare series regular role for Hathaway who started her career as part of the main cast of the short-lived 1999-2000 Fox comedy-drama Get Real. In 2001, she made her feature debut in The Princess Diaries. Hathaway has been largely focused on movies since, winning an Oscar for Les Misérables. Her only other major TV series role over the past two and a half decades was a lead in the 2022 Apple TV limited series WeCrashed, which she also executive produced.

Hathaway has several high-profile movies coming out in 2026, Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, Verity and Flowervale Street. She is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360, Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern. 

Doran’s movie Henry, financed by Studio Canal, starring Ralph Fiennes, will shoot in 2026. She is writing an adaptation of Witness For the Prosecution for 20th Century Studios, and also developing an anthology series for Apple TV+ with Playtone. She created and executive produced Traitors for Channel 4 and Netflix, was a co-executive producer on Hulu’s The Looming Tower and co-wrote the Netflix film Outlaw King starring Chris Pine and directed by David Mackenzie. Doran is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.

Toluca Pictures is repped by CAA and Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Rosenberg & Light.