BBC Worldwide, UKTV Take On True-Crime Series 20 Years on Death Row

BBC Worldwide will distribute the new true-crime series 20 Years on Death Row internationally, outside of France and the U.K., where the show has now been picked up by UKTV’s Really.

The 4×1-hour series was originally commissioned by French pay-TV channel 13éme Rue and was shot entirely on location in the U.S. The program spotlights the story of Keith Doolin, a former long-distance truck driver with no previous criminal convictions, currently incarcerated on death row in San Quentin prison. He was convicted of the murder of two women in 1995 and after 20 years is maintaining his innocence while awaiting execution and trying to navigate California’s capital appeals system.

The series is produced by Pernel Media, which secured access to the case via Doolin’s defense attorneys, Robert R. Bryan and Pamala Sayasane, both of whom specialize in defending people facing the death penalty.

Samuel Kissous, the president of Pernel Media, said: “The Keith Doolin case is an extraordinary story which we believe sheds a new light on the American justice system. We’re sure that viewers in the U.K. and around the world will be gripped by this true-crime series as they follow Keith’s appeal process, revealing the new evidence and twists and turns of the case.”

Emma Sparks, UKTV’s head of acquisitions, added: “We are so pleased to have agreed our first collaboration with Pernel Media on this groundbreaking series. It’s an explosive series which further cements Really as the U.K.’s destination channel for true crime.”