Entertainment
Aidan Kearney shot to national prominence for his coverage of the Karen Read murder case.
Turtleboy blogger and “Free Karen Read” champion Aidan Kearney is making the leap from livestreams to the big screen, with a docuseries in production and a feature film reportedly on the way.
Production company Compelling Pictures revealed its two-pronged approach to Deadline, which reported that the projects will track Kearney and his vocal, acerbic, and at times controversial support of Read throughout her two murder trials.
The docuseries is already in production, according to Deadline, and Compelling Pictures is in talks with filmmakers to fast track a feature “that will take tonal inspiration from unflinching Boston movies” like the investigative journalism epic “Spotlight” or the crime thriller “Mystic River.”
A former teacher known for his provocative and confrontational reporting, Kearney was an outspoken advocate for Read’s innocence in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. While prosecutors alleged Read drunkenly rammed her SUV into O’Keefe after a night of bar-hopping, Kearney backed the defense team’s theory that Read had been framed.
His prolific coverage of the case propelled him into the national spotlight and even landed him in jail for roughly two months after he was charged with intimidating witnesses. When jurors acquitted Read of murder and manslaughter charges in June, Kearney celebrated the verdict as something of a personal victory.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office later dropped one of its witness intimidation cases against Kearney in October, though he still faces two similar cases in connection with his coverage of Read’s case. He’s long maintained his reporting is protected under the First Amendment.
“Journalism is not a crime, at least it wasn’t until I began investigating and writing about the coverup of John O’Keefe’s murder and the subsequent framing of Karen Read,” Kearney said in a statement obtained by Deadline. “I look forward to providing new insight and details about my coverage of the case that has never been told before.”
Jeff Kalligheri of Compelling Pictures, a producer on the two Turtleboy projects, told Deadline the story hits close to home for him, as his cousin was O’Keefe’s friend and colleague.
“Having followed the case since soon after the tragic incident took place, our aim is to shine a light until the entire truth is shown,” Kalligheri told the news outlet. “Aidan’s perspective on this American tragedy as a citizen and journalist allows the unique opportunity to see it from all angles. We are eager for the audience to follow that through-line to wherever the still emerging facts lead.”
The announcement comes just over a week after Lifetime became the first network or production company to release a scripted adaptation of Read’s high-profile case. Netflix and Prime Video are also working on two different limited series about the case, with Prime’s iteration set to star Elizabeth Banks as Read.
Separately, Read and defense attorney Alan Jackson are working on their own scripted adaptation and are also looking to co-author a book.
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