Series in development about American female serial killer Dorothea Puente

The story of California's most infamous female serial killer, Dorothea Puente, is being turned into a television series. The potential series is based on Puente's life. In 1980, she opened a boarding house in Sacramento, where she invited the poor, mentally handicapped and homeless to live, often for free. Puente, then in her 50s, was praised as a generous benefactor, but in reality she murdered her boarders and continued to collect their welfare payments.



After years of avoiding suspicion, partly because of her disarming, motherly attitude, Puente was finally arrested. After a wild trial, she was convicted of three of the murders and spent her last years in prison.

Michael Rosenbaum (photo, inset) and his writing partner Jane Whitney are co-creators, writers and executive producers of the project, which is now in development. Joshua Michael Stern is co-creator, executive producer and showrunner. Former Sony Pictures Television Studios chairman Jeff Frost is executive producer.

Rosenbaum is best known for his roles as Lex Luthor in Smallville and Martinex in the Guardian of the Galaxy franchise.

Frost, who stepped down as president of SPT Studios in 2022, is also executive producer of Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan's new series for Apple TV+ and SPT, which will span two seasons.