Melissa McCarthy is stunning fans with her transformation into Patsy Ramsey, the mother of murdered child beauty pageant queen JonBenét Ramsey, in a first-look image released by Netflix.
Netflix shared the photo of McCarthy, 56, on Tuesday ahead of its upcoming limited series The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey, and social media users reacted immediately to what many called an uncanny resemblance.
'She really looks like Patsy,' one Instagram user wrote in the comments of a post done in collaboration with McCarthy.
Another wrote: 'Good lord. Give the costume designer and wig team a raise because that look is so spot on I GASPED.'
Others have already predicted McCarthy would earn an Emmy for the role.
In July, a number of users took to social media in the wake of the announcement that McCarthy would play the late JonBenét's mother, who died from ovarian cancer at 49 in 2006.
Mixed reactions online
Not everyone was convinced by the casting. 'Casting McCarthy as Patsy Ramsey is a bold choice, but it risks turning a grim tragedy into a caricature,' one user said. 'It's hard to maintain the tension of a cold case when the lead's comedic timing is that recognizable.'
Another user on X suggested sarcastically, 'Please tell me this is a slapstick comedy.'
One user took a different view, writing that 'McCarthy as Patsy Ramsey is bold casting against-type drama roles work when actors commit fully.'
Concerns over retelling and bias
Some users said the retelling of the tragic story was redundant, calling it the latest in a string of releases about the beauty pageant contestant's murder in the nearly three decades since her death.
'How many times must a story be told with a different twist or different perspective,' one user said. 'Damn all movies are the same way.'
Others on Reddit and X expressed concern the series might not present an impartial narrative. 'Oh lord,' one user wrote. 'Netflix out here about to make the Ramsey the sexiest most sympathetic parents on the planet.'
The unsolved case
JonBenét Ramsey was found fatally beaten and strangled on December 26, 1996, at the Boulder, Colorado, home her family lived in. The investigation into her death remains open.
Authorities had previously cleared Patsy and John Ramsey of suspicion. Former Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy wrote a letter to John Ramsey in 2008 stating that DNA evaluation had eliminated the family as suspects.
'We do not consider your immediate family including you, your wife, Patsy, and your son Burke to be under any suspicion in the commission of this crime,' Lacy wrote.
Cast and production history
The miniseries had initially been set up at Paramount+, but the platform later decided not to go ahead with it before it moved to Netflix.
Clive Owen plays John Ramsey in the series, while newcomer Emily Mitchell joins McCarthy and Owen in the role of JonBenét Ramsey.
The limited series will also feature Garrett Hedlund, Alison Pill, Chris Bauer, Shea Whigham, Owen Teague, Clifton Collins Jr., Angus Caldwell and Jaime Ray Newman.
