Jennifer Lawrence will star in Apple's 'Real Housewives'-inspired murder mystery —what we know about 'The Wives'

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"The Wives" is an A24 and Apple co-production

"The Wives" star Jennifer Lawrence attending the Vanity Fair 2024 Oscar After Party Arrivals.
(Image credit: Robert Smith/Getty Images)

Murder mystery stories are having a bit of a moment right now. We're getting "Only Murders in the Building" season 4 soon, "Knives Out 3" is in the works, we've had three Poirot flicks from Kenneth Branagh's and a feature adaptation of "The Thursday Murder Club" is on the horizon ... and now Apple is getting involved. 

As Variety has reported, "The Hunger Games" and "No Hard Feelings" star Jennifer Lawrence is due to appear in and produce "The Wives", an Apple Original Films and A24 co-production which is being billed as a whodunit "in the vein" of "The Real Housewives" reality franchise.

After hunting around for more info, it looks like the project is still in the early stages of production, but it's definitely one to keep a close eye on. Here's what else we know about "The Wives" right now. 

What else do we know about "The Wives"?

The cast of Real Housewives of Orange County season 17

The Real Housewives of Orange County season 17 cast. (Image credit: Bravo)

From the sounds of things, "The Wives" is still in the early days of production. The Variety report claims that the movie is currently in development and there's no word on who else will join the cast alongside Jennifer Lawrence, nor when it might start shooting. And without a shooting schedule, we don't have a release date.  

Fittingly for a murder mystery project, the plot details are being kept, well, a mystery. Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley are writing the script, and we do at least know that the movie is influenced by "The Real Housewives" franchise. 

For the uninitiated, "The Real Housewives" has been a big name in reality TV for decades now. Since the very first installment (2006's "The Real Housewives of Orange County"), each show has been shining a spotlight on the professional and personal lives of groups of women in cities across the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. 

Going off what we've seen over the years, I'd expect "The Wives" to feature a ton of drama between Lawrence and her would-be castmates. If the movie stays true to the Bravo shows, I'd wager it'll be set in at least one luxury home and full of glamorous outfits and will likely see some seriously harsh words exchanged when the body (or perhaps, bodies) are found in the new movie. Who knows, some of the actual Real Housewives could even make an appearance (J. Law is an acknowledged fan). 

Lawrence is producing alongside Justine Ciarrocchi (for her company, Excellent Cadaver), in addition to Tony-nominated playwright Jeremy O. Harris ("Slave Play") and Josh Godfrey for their bb² banner. 

On X (formerly Twitter), Harris shared the news, calling the project 'the culmination of almost 7 years of work and one of the first big examples of what I've been up to these "quiet" years".

While we wait for more details, check out our roundup of the best movies like "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion that you can stream right now to find more murder mysteries. 

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Martin Shore
Martin Shore
Staff Writer, Streaming

Martin is a Streaming Writer at Tom’s Guide, covering all things movies and TV. If it’s in the theaters or available to stream somewhere, he’s probably watched it… especially if it has a dragon in it. Before joining the team, he was a Staff Writer at What To Watch where he wrote about a broad range of shows that stretched from "Doctor Who" and "The Witcher" to "Bridgerton" and "Love Island". When he’s not watching the next must-see movie or show, he’s probably still in front of a screen playing massive RPGs, reading, spending a fortune on TCGs, or watching the NFL.