EXCLUSIVE: A+E Networks EMEA has commissioned a six-part series about flawed investigations into notorious killers from the U.S. and UK.
Woodcut Media is making Faces of Evil for Crime + Investigation. The series will explore the twists-and-turns of the flawed investigations into the likes of the so-called ‘Death House Landlady’ Dorothea Puente and ‘Kansas City Butcher’ Robert Berdella Jr.
Puente managed to fool everyone into thinking she was a harmless old lady for over a decade, before she was arraigned on nine counts of murder in California, while Berdella Jr kidnapped, raped and murdered at least six young men in the 1980s before the law finally caught up with him.
From the UK, the series will follow the cases of Billy Dunlop and Russell Bishop, both of whom managed to escape conviction for murders, respectively, of Julie Hogg and Nicola Fellows, and Karen Hadaway, despite compelling evidence against them. They were finally brought to book decades later.
Watch on Deadline
In each case, the series will look at the missteps and flawed procedures that resulted in these killers evading capture and conviction, and the courage and persistence of those who refused to accept defeat in efforts to bring them to justice.
Distributor Woodcut International is handling worldwide sales and will present it to international buyers at the upcoming MIPCOM market.
Executive producers are Matthew Gordon and Koulla Anastasi. Series producer is Tracey Moore.
The series has been ordered for A+E Networks EMEA by Dan Korn, VP of Programming, and Diana Carter, Commissioning Editor and Head of Talent.
Korn said: “We’re delighted to be working again with Woodcut Media, exploring how, in the 1980s in particular, killers on both sides of the Atlantic managed to slip through the net, despite the best efforts of law enforcement. It’s an important reminder of how far we’ve come but also of the valiant efforts of the families of the victims, who refused to let these heinous crimes go unpunished.”
“With true crime, one important aspect is to see that justice has been served, which is highlighted in each episode of this series,” added Koulla Anastasi, Commercial Director of Woodcut Media and MD of Woodcut International. “Thankfully forensics has come a long way, and the speed at which crimes are being resolved has drastically improved. It’s a pleasure to be producing this new series for the Crime + Investigation platform, and we look forward to presenting to our buyers at MIPCOM.”
A+E Networks EMEA, part of A+E Networks, operates networks such as Crime + Investigation, The History Channel, Blaze and Cosmo TV in the UK, Nordics, Benelux, Germany, Italy, Spain, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has offices in London, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Munich, and Johannesburg.
The UK’s true crime industry was rocked earlier this year with the tragic death of producer John Balson, who took his own life in May. A TV and film welfare association was launched soon after. Woodcut founder Kate Beal is the founder of the UK’s Association of True Crime Producers, which was set up in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by an off-duty police officer and the media response to the death of British woman Nicola Bulley.
The post A+E Networks Orders ‘Faces Of Evil’ True Crime Series From Woodcut Media appeared first on Deadline.
