{"id":20676,"date":"2024-01-10T15:20:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T20:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker-2\/"},"modified":"2024-01-19T12:41:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T17:41:24","slug":"kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/","title":{"rendered":"KT Studios\u2019 Stephanie Lydecker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stephanie Lydecker, CEO of KT Studios, founded the L.A.-based production company in 2018. KT Studios has since landed a 160-plus-hour slate deal with iHeartPodcasts and amassed a slew of true-crime credits, including\u00a0Murdered & Missing in Montana<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Injustice with Nancy Grace<\/em>, among others. Its recent release\u00a0The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre<\/em>, following the case of a family slain by those they called friends, premiered on November 24 on Oxygen with back-to-back episodes and aired its third installment the next day. While true crime has had a stronghold on the factual market lately, many studios are finding their footing in a sea of competition and ethical considerations. Lydecker shares her perspective on the landscape, where it may be headed and what KT Studios\u2019 production process looks like.<\/p>\n

\"***Image***\"TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0How has the true-crime genre evolved in the past few years?
\nLYDECKER:<\/strong>\u00a0I believe it\u2019s evolved in a powerful way. Content can be actionable.\u00a0 Documentaries and podcasts can help move the needle in a case or, at the very least, keep the fight for justice alive in the public\u2019s eye. Personally, that gets me very fired up.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0What does KT Studios do to make content that stands out in the crowded true-crime space? What\u2019s been the key to creating successful content?
\nLYDECKER:<\/strong>\u00a0Many of the cases we work on are open investigations, and therefore, the stakes could not be higher. These stories allow us to unpack larger issues, such as domestic violence, mental illness and generational trauma. It\u2019s a way to authentically shed light on specific issues and hopefully prevent them from happening again.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0KT Studios produces many forms of true-crime media\u2014from podcasts to feature-length documentaries to series. How does your approach differ and stay the same between mediums and platforms?
\nLYDECKER:<\/strong>\u00a0Overall, our approach is the same for all mediums. Our podcasts are the foundation. Our documentaries allow listeners to see the real people involved and provide the platform to take a deeper dive into an investigation. The scripted versions bring the victims back to life. I believe this 360 approach defines how we create content at KT Studios.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0The three-part\u00a0The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre<\/em>\u00a0debuted on November 24. What brought KT Studios\u2019 attention to the case?
\nLYDECKER:<\/strong>\u00a0We first learned about the crime from a news article written by Jeff Winkler for\u00a0The Outline<\/em>. Eight members of one family were murdered at four different locations in one night in rural Pike County, Ohio, making it the largest crime scene investigation in Ohio\u2019s history. The murders went unsolved for many years. Several of the victims were mothers who were murdered while holding their babies, which frankly is a haunting detail that fueled our obsession to help find answers. Personally speaking, that was the case with me.<\/p>\n

Another local family (a mother, father and two adult sons) has since been accused of the murders, and the documentary follows Pike County\u2019s pursuit of justice. Think about that\u2014a killer family\u2014it\u2019s unfathomable.<\/p>\n

Just days after the arrests in 2018, we were on the ground in Pike County, knocking on doors and meeting anyone in the town who could shed some light on this case, and we\u2019ve been working on it ever since. We produced the TV movie\u00a0The Piketon Family Murders<\/em>\u00a0in 2019. This was followed by 52 episodes of the podcast\u00a0The Piketon Massacre: Return to Pike County<\/em>\u00a0for iHeart, which hit number one in all categories and, to date, has reached more than 55 million listeners. The docuseries\u00a0The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre<\/em>, which premiered Thanksgiving weekend, was the highest-rated premiere on Oxygen\/Peacock in five years.<\/p>\n

TV REAL:<\/strong>\u00a0What is your approach to treating true-crime topics and IP with sensitivity while also managing to appeal to viewers and create marketable narrative arcs?
\nLYDECKER:<\/strong>\u00a0Our primary focus is always on the victims, and this is paramount to anything else. Since we don\u2019t know the ending when we start production, we\u2019re on the same journey as the viewers and listeners, which has led us to some heavy and dark places, to say the least. But when you interview someone who has survived an unimaginable tragedy, and they still can find the courage and strength to carry on, it\u2019s inspiring beyond words.<\/p>\n

Our company\u2019s goal in 2024 is to continue to excel in what we are doing now: taking a 360-degree approach to our library of podcasts and converting them into documentaries and scripted television and films.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephanie Lydecker, CEO and founder, on the true-crime landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3087,"featured_media":20677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,69],"tags":[8895,8896],"class_list":["post-20676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-kt-studios","tag-stephanie-lydecker","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nKT Studios\u2019 Stephanie Lydecker - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"KT Studios\u2019 Stephanie Lydecker - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stephanie Lydecker, CEO and founder, on the true-crime landscape.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-10T20:20:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-19T17:41:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/Stephanie-Lydecker.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alexa Alfano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alexa Alfano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/\",\"name\":\"KT Studios\u2019 Stephanie Lydecker - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-10T20:20:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-19T17:41:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/2653b97e27eaf76a4713c75f0e821dad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/kt-studios-stephanie-lydecker\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"KT Studios\u2019 Stephanie Lydecker\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/2653b97e27eaf76a4713c75f0e821dad\",\"name\":\"Alexa Alfano\",\"description\":\"Alexa Alfano is associate editor at World Screen. 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