Opening Up the Forensic Files

New Dominion Pictures has been delivering top true-crime programming to the market for 15 years.

Long before CSI ever hit prime-time television, a show called The New Detectives was leading the trend toward forensics-oriented programs. From New Dominion Pictures, the series takes an in-depth look at how scientists are recreating the circumstances surrounding a person’s death. From the forensics labs at the Smithsonian Institution to the ATF bomb laboratory and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, The New Detectives profiles the work of world-renowned forensics experts and criminal investigators, with a particular focus on the techniques (and technologies!) they use to solve murders and other crimes.

The New Detectives marked New Dominion’s entrance into the crime-and-investigation genre. The company began producing the first episodes in 1995. Now the catalogue has expanded to include such titles as Interpol Investigates, The FBI Files, The Prosecutors: In Pursuit of Justice, Daring Capers as well as 11 true-crime movie-of-the-weeks.

"It’s real stories about real people—good versus evil and in the end…justice prevails," says Kristen Eppley, the senior VP of international distribution, about the genre’s popularity with viewers. She adds, "It’s all about keeping the audience on the edge of their seats, giving clues and keeping them in the moment, not revealing ‘whodunit’ until the very end. It is so important to maintain the mystery throughout the program. Once the audience knows who did it they move on." 

Particularly appealing about New Dominion’s crop of true-crime shows, according to Eppley, is the ability to "take viewers behind-the-scenes of major crime investigations. They witness world-renowned forensics experts and criminal investigators and the techniques they use to solve murders and other crimes. Along the way the audience gets to exercise their own detective instincts."

Eppley attributes the success of the catalogue to it having just the right balance between the entertainment factor and the actual news-style investigation. "It is making sure that we stay true to the story and the facts and finding that balance with the dramatizations for entertainment," she notes. "It is working with great researchers, writers, producers and directors to make the story come to life."

She also says that she has not seen interest in this genre of programming wane much over the last 15 years. "True-crime shows will always be in demand," Eppley says with confidence. "Our programs have been and continue to be licensed across all types of channels, from general entertainment to documentary to niche channels."

For MIPCOM, New Dominion is bringing out 121 one-hour episodes of its hit The New Detectives, alongside a number of other series that fall within the genre of dramatic reenactment. Along with the slate of true-crime docudramas, New Dominion also offers a broad range of programs outside the genre, covering gritty docu-reality shows, ob-docs, science programs, magazine-style investigative series and dramatic documentaries.