--- title: Viola Davis to Produce ABC Drama About Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy description: Kym Worthy has been called 'the toughest woman in Detroit' canonical: https://time.com/3607973/viola-davis-is-creating-a-show-about-detroits-first-female-prosecutor/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-26T19:14:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:22.850Z og:title: Viola Davis to Produce ABC Drama About Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy og:description: Kym Worthy has been called 'the toughest woman in Detroit' og:url: https://time.com/3607973/viola-davis-is-creating-a-show-about-detroits-first-female-prosecutor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c0810a985667e55/69876b530b72e30eb56dc345/viola-davis.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ABC's 2014 Summer TCA Tour Portraits og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Viola Davis to Produce ABC Drama About Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy twitter:description: Kym Worthy has been called 'the toughest woman in Detroit' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c0810a985667e55/69876b530b72e30eb56dc345/viola-davis.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Viola Davis Is Creating a Show About Detroit's First Female Prosecutor  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Nov 26, 2014 7:14 PM CUT  ABC's 'How to Get Away with Murder' actress Viola Davis poses for a portrait during ABC's 2014 TCA summer press tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 15, 2014 in Beverly Hills. ABC's 'How to Get Away with Murder' actress Viola Davis poses for a portrait during ABC's 2014 TCA summer press tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 15, 2014 in Beverly Hills.Christopher Polk—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Nov 26, 2014 7:14 PM CUT Viola Davis, who plays defense attorney Annalise Keating on ABC’s _How to Get Away with Murder_, is trying her hand at exploring the other side of the courtroom. She’s producing a new ABC drama inspired by Kym Worthy, the badass Detroit prosecutor who has led the charge to investigate the city’s 11,000 backlogged rape kits. ([Read more about her quest ](http://time.com/3000974/in-hot-pursuit-of-cold-cases/ "undefined")to revive cold cases [here](http://time.com/3000974/in-hot-pursuit-of-cold-cases/ "undefined").) Worthy, who has been called the toughest woman in Detroit, is known for [prosecuting](http://www.essence.com/2010/01/21/the-toughest-women-in-detroit-kym-worthy/ "undefined") former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick for obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and perjury, which led to his resignation from office (along with other high-profile scandals.) A sexual assault survivor herself, she’s also revamped the way her office handles rape cases, pioneering a “victim-centered” approach that puts the emphasis on catching rapists rather than questioning victims. **MORE:** [**Here’s what happens when you get a rape kit exam**](http://time.com/3000974/in-hot-pursuit-of-cold-cases/ "undefined") Viola and her producing partner Julius Tennon will be joined by Debra Martin Chase (_Sparkle_) to create the new drama _Conviction,_ which will be written by Jason Wilborn (_Damages), Deadline_ [reports.](https://deadline.com/2014/11/viola-davis-debra-martin-chase-produce-drama-prosecutor-kym-worthy-abc-conviction-1201296046/ "undefined") Worthy is on board as a consultant. \[[_DEADLINE_](https://deadline.com/2014/11/viola-davis-debra-martin-chase-produce-drama-prosecutor-kym-worthy-abc-conviction-1201296046/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3607973/viola-davis-is-creating-a-show-about-detroits-first-female-prosecutor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3607973/viola-davis-is-creating-a-show-about-detroits-first-female-prosecutor/"},"headline":"Viola Davis Is Creating a Show About Detroit's First Female Prosecutor","datePublished":"2014-11-26T19:14:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:22.850Z","description":"Kym Worthy has been called 'the toughest woman in Detroit'","url":"https://time.com/3607973/viola-davis-is-creating-a-show-about-detroits-first-female-prosecutor/","keywords":["Living","Crime","Television","Detroit","Scandal","Viola Davis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c0810a985667e55/69876b530b72e30eb56dc345/viola-davis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c0810a985667e55/69876b530b72e30eb56dc345/viola-davis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ABC's 2014 Summer TCA Tour Portraits","caption":"ABC's 2014 Summer TCA Tour Portraits","creditText":"Christopher Polk—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3607973/viola-davis-is-creating-a-show-about-detroits-first-female-prosecutor/","name":"Viola Davis Is Creating a Show About Detroit's First Female Prosecutor"}}]}] ```