Melissa McCarthy has spoken for the first time about her work in the upcoming Netflix drama The Murder Of JonBenét Ramsey. The Oscar nominee takes on the role of JonBenét’s mother Patsy Ramsey in the true crime miniseries, which already looks poised to become one of 2026’s most talked-about shows. During a new interview with Variety, the Bridesmaids star admitted her knee-jerk reaction was to turn down the offer to appear in the new series, claiming it didn’t feel like “it was any of my business to do”. Melissa McCarthy “But I spent a lot of years not working, and somebody took the time to ask me – I should take the time to look into it,” she recalled. “The more I started to, I was really floored by the lack of humanity that had been shown to that family.” Melissa said this was what motivated her to say yes to the new take on the unsolved case, which explores the aftermath of the six-year-old girl’s murder at her parents’ home in Boulder, Colorado, 30 years later. While theories about the JonBenét Ramsey case remain as rampant as ever, Melissa said that as part of her process she felt she “had to pick” what she felt had happened. “Just my personal feeling. My heart says no one in the family could have done that,” she claimed. “I don’t have the ability, or probably the right, to say that, but that’s what my gut says. Which I probably am not supposed to say. “But shooting that, I had to pick. I had to have that for myself, if nothing else.” Clive Owen and Melissa McCarthy in The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey JonBenét Ramsey was killed at her family’s home on Christmas Day 1996 in Colorado. Initially, local police focussed their attention on the six-year-old’s parents in their investigation, but a new district attorney in 2002 theorised that she was murdered by an intruder at the family home. The case remains an open homicide investigation. The TV series, The Murder Of JonBenét Ramsey, will also star Clive Owen as John Bennett Ramsey, with the supporting cast set to include Owen Teague, Allison Pill and newcomer Emily Mitchell as JonBenét. Co-created by Harrison Query and Tommy Wallach, the eight-part series will premiere on Netflix on 10 December, weeks shy of the 30th anniversary of JonBenét’s death READ MORE: Everything Ryan Murphy Has Said About What's Next For Monster – And Who Season 5 Could Be About 17 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets About How They Made The Gentlemen Season 2 9 New Shows And Films You Should Be Streaming On Netflix In September 2026