Fresh Perspectives for Crime Programming

True-crime programming has seemingly endless appeal for TV viewers—armchair detectives eager to get to the bottom of who did it and what drove them to do it. “Everyone loves a good mystery, and that’s what these true-crime shows are at their hearts,” says Hud Woodle, executive VP of international sales and operations at GRB Studios. “Frankly, it also feels good—perhaps, these days more than ever—to see the bad guy (or gal) get caught!”

But with a glut of true-crime series and specials in the marketplace, it’s become even more essential that a program presents fresh perspectives or unique insights in order to stand out from the pack.

The GRB slate includes On the Case, exploring murder mysteries through in-depth interviews with those closest to the case and examining the forensic evidence that helped unravel the mystery. First-person accounts from witnesses and suspects reveal the raw emotions left behind from personal tragedies and the motives of the perpetrators. Journalist and newscaster Paula Zahn leads the action. GRB just announced season ten of On the Case with Paula Zahn, produced for Discovery, will be available to international buyers later this year.

TV journalist Deborah Norville is at the center of the action in Executed, which spotlights criminal cases that resulted in the ultimate punishment: death. Produced for REELZ, each episode features shocking stories of heinous acts, guilty verdicts and the condemned paying the price for their crimes.

Produced for TV One, For My Man features shocking stories of women who have committed crimes in the name of love. There are six seasons on offer.

It Happened Here, produced for REELZ, visits the locations of some of the world’s most controversial celebrity deaths and discovers the roles that fate, circumstance and luck played in each icon’s journey to fame and tragedy.

Meanwhile, classic titles such as Occult Crimes and Wicked Attraction continue to perform well. Recent sales have been secured with Blue Ant in Canada and ProSieben in Germany, respectively.

“It always comes back to good storytelling,” says Woodle on the USP needed to stand out in today’s marketplace. “The GRB lineup features over 900 hours of masterfully crafted, compellingly presented crime stories, told in a way that keeps the audience glued to the screen, asking, ‘Who done it!?!’ till the very end. Oftentimes, viewers will rewatch crime content even though they know how it ends, proving that nothing beats a great story.”

 

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