Oxygen is expanding its originals slate with 10 new true-crime shows, including the U.S. premiere of a Piers Morgan event series that sees Morgan sit with a serial killer.
In 2017, Oxygen, part of NBCUniversal, rebranded to a full-time true-crime destination.
“The response from the true-crime community has been overwhelming,” said Rod Aissa, executive VP, original programming and development, Oxygen Media. “We’ve had some tremendous early ratings successes since our rebrand, and this new slate adds to our mission of providing best in class investigative docuseries from the top producers and talent in the genre, while continuing to offer exclusive access and compelling storytelling that have become paramount to our viewers.”
Serial Killer with Piers Morgan will see Morgan conduct an interview with a killer. The show is produced by Plum Pictures and Ferret Productions. Morgan, John Ferriter, Will Daws and Stuart Cabb are executive producers.
In Defense Of looks at the complex relationships between notorious criminals and the defense attorneys who represented them. The attorneys representing Timothy McVeigh and Jodi Arias are among those sharing their perspective. In Defense Of is produced by Magical Elves with Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth the executive producers.
The Disappearance of Crystal Rogers looks at a case involving a mother who disappeared, and whose father was shot dead in an alleged hunting accident, though the locals see it otherwise. The show is produced by Peacock Productions with Lloyd Fales and Nicole Rittenmeyer the executive producers.
Price of Duty sees homicide detectives share the most haunting case of their career. It is produced by The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) with Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Bill Pruitt, Jackson Nguyen and Todd Crites the executive producers.
Abuse of Power, which debuts May 12, is hosted by Lauren Sivan. Each episode will examine “the twisted and true stories where pillars of the community took advantage of their authority to commit heinous acts of crime, all stemming from their hunger for greed, control and power,” says Oxygen. It is produced by Storyville Entertainment and Lucky 8, with Betsy Schechter, Kim Woodard, Greg Henry, Dahlia Damaghi and Mitchell Rosenbaum executive producers.
The Mark of a Killer looks at murderers “keeping postmortem souvenirs and performing distinct rituals” during their killings, and how the “signature trademarks often prove to be their undoing.”
The Mark of a Killer is produced by Jarrett Creative and Motiv8 Media, with Seth Jarrett and Julie Jarrett executive producers for Jarrett Creative and Kara Kurcz and Brian Lee executive producers for Motiv8 Media.
License to Kill sees renowned plastic surgeon Terry Dubrow (Botched) investigate cases of murderous doctors and nurses. The show is produced by Shed Media, a division of Warner Bros. Unscripted & Alternative Television. Pam Healey, Dave Kuba, Adam Kassen and Terry Dubrow are executive producers.
Dying to Belong “explores the utterly shocking and spellbinding stories of those who killed in order to feel genuinely accepted,” says Oxygen, including a teenager who killed to impress his friends and a mother who plotted to kill a cheerleader who was her daughter’s competition. Dying to Belong is produced by Jupiter Entertainment with Stephen Land, Allison Wallach, Matt Sprouse and Eric Wetherington executive producers.
Buried in the Backyard premieres June 3 and looks at true-crime stories where the victim, as the title suggests, was found buried in the backyard. It is produced by Renegade 83 with Jay Renfroe, David Garfinkle, Bob Kusbit and Jeff Kuntz the executive producers.
A Wedding and a Murder also starts June 3and chronicles relationships which began with the promise of an engagement, and explores dream weddings that are supposed to bring happy memories, but end up shrouded in mystery and murder. A Wedding and a Murder is produced by Leepson Bounds Entertainment with David Leepson, Stephanie Lydecker, Mary Bissell and Daniel Schulman the executive producers.
Cult of Killers investigates the mystery behind a murder (or string of murders) committed by members of a cult. Says Oxygen, "Each episode will zero in on the cult responsible for a homicide, and begin to unravel the cult’s genesis from the leader down to the individual members.” Cult of Killers is produced by IPC and Eureka Productions with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman executive producers for IPC and Paul Franklin and Chris Culvenor exec producers for Eureka.
"Oxygen is delivering an audience of true-crime enthusiasts that is passionate about the programming, resulting in the ideal effectiveness for our advertiser’s messaging,” said Laura Molen, executive VP, lifestyle and Hispanic advertising sales, NBCUniversal. “We’re seeing this engagement not just on linear but also across Oxygen’s digital presence, where younger, valuable consumers are coming to the network, allowing us to show the network’s reach across multiple demos.”
