Viola Davis and bestselling author James Patterson reveal their inspiration for abortion courtroom drama "about America right now"

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Collaborations don’t get much more intriguing than this: Oscar-winning actor Viola Davis (who also has Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards crowding her mantelpiece) and bestselling crime writer James Patterson have teamed up to produce Judge Stone, a topical, button-pushing page-turner. As fans of Patterson’s thrillers might expect, the drama hits hard and fast.

A 13-year-old girl in a conservative small town in the Deep South of MAGA America is pregnant and a respected local doctor is about to commit a Class A felony under the Alabama Human Life Protection Act – in other words, he’s about to perform an abortion. The novel is set after the 2022 decision of the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs Wade, and “trigger laws” designed to restrict women’s access to abortion have reached the statute book. Even rape and incest are no longer grounds for a termination in Alabama and several other States.

Given the title of the novel, it’s no spoiler to reveal that this is essentially a courtroom drama but, of course, it’s also much more than that. Judge Mary Stone will hear the case against Dr Bria Gaines, but the reality of their lives beyond the legal proceedings brings further considerations to bear. Both for the characters and the reader. “Yes, I want to say everything we can about America right now,” says Patterson, when asked if the book amounts to a state-of-the-nation address.

“Many years ago I went to Vanderbilt [University] in Tennessee… I loved To Kill a Mockingbird and I’ve always wanted to do something in terms of a big courtroom case in the South and try to make it as controversial as that.” Harper Lee’s 1960 Pulitzer-winning novel took on racial injustice, questioned uncomfortable truths and spoke to personal morality. Judge Stone follows in the same footsteps but is not subject to the accusation that the narrative comes from a solely white perspective.

My agent called and said, ‘Would you like to collaborate on a book with James Patterson?’,” laughs Davis, who’s renowned for roles as various as a housemaid in 1960s Mississippi (The Help), James Brown’s mother (Get On Up) and that Oscar-winning performance as Rose Maxson in Denzel Washington’s film of August Wilson’s play Fences. “And that was the beginning and end of it because I was like, ‘Oh, of course.’ And then, when I knew what the premise was, I just said, ‘I can do that’. Like James,

I saw it as [a take on] To Kill a Mockingbird and what that could do in terms of bringing out the most interesting parts of a town, of a people, of a relationship, of ethos and ideologies.”

“When I’m writing,” says Patterson, “I imagine there’s one person sitting across from me and I don’t want them to get up until I’ve finished telling the story, so when I was writing with Viola, that person was sitting across from both of us. There are at least three significant characters: Nova [the pregnant teen] – what’s going to happen to her? You have Dr Gaines – what’s going to happen to her? Then you have Judge Stone, and also Mary’s family. You’re interested in all of them, wondering how is this going to unfold?”

The story hangs on the title character and Davis was immediately attracted to her. “It felt like there was a way in,” she says now. “When you are given a character [as an actor], you have to go down to a sort of imagination playground based on your memory of every human being you’ve ever met. And those are the things that you call on. This was the same skill set. I’d call James while I was driving to pick up my daughter from soccer, and say, ‘Listen, I’ve got one more idea. Just hear me out.’ And one of the biggest surprises was that he was always open to my ideas.”

Patterson is a serial collaborator and has published books with more than 30 co-authors including Bill Clinton (“a pest”) and Dolly Parton (“relentless”), but the process here for him was as painless as he’s ever known. “There was never a time when I had to say, ‘I’m not seeing it.’ It was just, ‘OK, that makes some sense. That’ll work. That’s a good idea.’”

The pair set about “developing the characters, layering on the pieces” and the result is a tense, page-turning drama that demands investment but returns it with interest. Patterson reveals that the film rights were, not unsurprisingly, “bought instantly”. Given that news, would it be a huge surprise to see Davis picking up a few more awards for her portrayal of Judge Mary Stone some time in the future?

• Judge Stone is available to buy now

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