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First look at ‘Boston Strangler,’ which starts streaming on Hulu March 17

In the film shot in Boston, Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon star as journalists who connected the dots on the 1960s murders

Carrie Coon (left) and Keira Knightley as Jean Cole and Loretta McLaughlin in the upcoming true crime thriller "Boston Strangler."Hulu

First look photos of the upcoming 20th Century Studios film “Boston Strangler” were released this week, and the true crime thriller will begin streaming on Hulu on March 17, according to an announcement from the studio. A podcast about the case hosted by a former Boston Globe reporter is also slated to premiere soon, reports say.

“Experience the thrilling true story of two reporters who led the charge to unravel the most infamous serial murder cases of all time,” 20th Century Studios tweeted on Tuesday. The film stars Keira Knightley as journalist Loretta McLaughlin and Carrie Coon as colleague and confidante Jean Cole. The movie follows the Boston Record American reporters who first connected the clues among a series of murders in Boston in the 1960s. The movie, directed by Matt Ruskin, was filmed in Boston last December.

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Newly released photos from the film include one of Coon and Knightley sifting through stacks of letters in what appears to be a newsroom.

Keira Knightley in a first-release image from the upcoming film "Boston Strangler."Hulu
Carrie Coon as Jean Cole in "Boston Strangler."Hulu

Former Boston Globe journalist Dick Lehr, a former friend of McLaughlin’s, is hosting a three-part podcast to further unpack the 1960s case. (McLaughlin, who went on to become editorial page editor at the Globe, died in 2018 at age 90.) Lehr is an award-winning journalist who has written about the case that happened 50 years ago. The podcast will examine the backstories of the victims, and why the Boston Strangler remains relevant today.

A release date for the podcast hasn’t been announced, but it will be free on all major podcast platforms ahead of the film’s debut, according to Deadline.

“Boston Strangler” was filmed in and around Boston from December 2021 to March 2022. In addition to scenes shot downtown and in the South End, production also filmed in Belmont, Braintree, Cambridge, Devens, Lancaster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Medfield, and Wellesley.

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The film also stars Alessandro Nivola, David Dastmalchian, Morgan Spector, Bill Camp, and Chris Cooper.

This article has been updated to clarify the timespan Dick Lehr wrote about the Boston Strangler case.


Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follow her @brittbowker and also on Instagram @brittbowker.