Warner Bros. Discovery Orders Raft of True-Crime Content

Warner Bros. Discovery UK has commissioned three brand-new true-crime programs, including the tentatively titled six-parter The Swindlers.

Produced by Crackit Productions, The Swindlers examines stories of serial swindlers who charmed and manipulated their way into the lives and wallets of their victims. The series will flip between the perspective of the swindlers and that of their victims, featuring high-profile cases. It will air on Quest Red early next year.

Dead Fake (w.t.) examines the stories of fraudsters faking their own death. The five-part series, produced by Man Alive Entertainment, will explore the consequences of this extreme exit strategy and the characters who attempt it. The series will launch on discovery+ in early 2023.

Michael Sams: Kidnapper Killer is a Candour-produced documentary that features never-before-heard audio of the murderer who was once labeled “The Other Yorkshire Ripper” that was secretly recorded while he was in a high-security prison. The series will drop on discovery+ in the U.K. on July 30.

The second season of Crackit’s Deadliest Mums & Dads will be released on Quest Red in September. The new season will examine even more heinous and heart-breaking crimes. Each of the episodes will focus on a different harrowing story of parents who murdered their own children.

Clare Laycock, senior VP of planning and insights, head of entertainment at Warner Bros. Discovery UK, said: “Tapping into the appetite for true crime, we are delighted to expand our portfolio with three new titles—The Swindlers (w.t.), Dead Fake (w.t.) and Michael Sams: Kidnapper Killer. True crime continues to be one of our most popular genres, both through discovery+ and via our linear channels—accounting for almost half of our Quest Red ratings—so we are delighted to commission the new series and a returning favorite in Deadliest Mums & Dads series two.”