{"id":8338,"date":"2016-02-24T11:21:32","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T16:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/grb-entertainment-rides-the-true-crime-wave\/"},"modified":"2016-03-08T12:40:49","modified_gmt":"2016-03-08T17:40:49","slug":"grb-entertainment-rides-the-true-crime-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/grb-entertainment-rides-the-true-crime-wave\/","title":{"rendered":"GRB Rides the True-Crime Wave"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Gary R. Benz, president and CEO, and Liz Levenson, the director of international sales and acquisitions, speak about\u00a0factual programming trends and the company\u2019s future plans.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Since 1986, Los Angeles-based GRB Entertainment, founded by President and CEO Gary R. Benz, has been producing and distributing a catalogue that includes unscripted and documentary programming. Lately, demand for this brand of factual content, particularly true crime, has reached a new high. \u201cDocumentaries are back in a very powerful way,\u201d says Liz Levenson, GRB\u2019s director of international sales and acquisitions.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/newsletters.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/img\/2016-02-24-On-The-Case-with-Paula-Zahn.jpg\" alt=\"***Image***\" width=\"210\" height=\"304\" \/>\u201cWe\u2019re always looking for, pitching and producing unscripted shows,\u201d adds Benz. \u201cWe\u2019ve always taken on documentaries, but they\u2019ve recently hit a new height in terms of interest. Now, the younger audience is after something very authentic that speaks to them,\u201d and documentaries can fill that need.<\/p>\n<p>In the documentary space, true-crime has rushed to the forefront and is commanding a great deal of attention. \u201cThe true-crime space has always been strong, but we\u2019re seeing a resurgence like never before,\u201d says Levenson. \u201cBetween\u00a0<em>Making a Murderer<\/em>\u00a0on Netflix and\u00a0<em>The Jinx<\/em>\u00a0[on HBO], everybody\u2019s talking about true-crime documentaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Benz points out that \u201cCrime programming has been a mainstay of scripted television forever, with Dick Wolf having a big piece of that market cornered. But honestly, you can\u2019t make up stories that are better than reality. Now the audience is able to plug into real stories that are happening in real time, and it\u2019s very captivating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>GRB is capitalizing on viewers\u2019 thirst for this type of programming with true-crime documentaries such as\u00a0<em>Nelson Serrano: I\u2019m Innocent<\/em>, which follows the story of an Ecuadorian citizen who was accused of murder in Florida in 1997. Levenson explains that Serrano \u201cwas sentenced to death for the crime, and is on death row currently awaiting execution, though he has maintained his innocence from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a similar vein, GRB\u2019s portfolio also features the series\u00a0<em>On The Case with Paula Zahn<\/em>. This long-running program \u201chas the same kind of elements as\u00a0<em>Nelson Serrano: I\u2019m Innocent<\/em>,\u201d Levenson says.<\/p>\n<p>True-crime documentaries resonate with viewers because they deal with \u201ca very relatable subject and the stakes are always high,\u201d Levenson notes. \u201cThere\u2019s something about the procedural element [with a title] like\u00a0<em>Nelson Serrano: I\u2019m Innocent<\/em>, where all of a sudden as a viewer, you\u2019re in this position as judge and jury. All of the facts are presented to you, and everybody thinks that they\u2019re the one that\u2019ll solve the crime, so there is this immersive experience, and that [makes this type of programming] very interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Documentaries occupy such a commanding presence in the factual space that the company is looking to dedicate a new division to this genre. Benz explains, \u201cOne of the things we\u2019re interested in embarking on now is setting up a part of GRB that is a documentary label.\u201d Therefore, Levenson notes, \u201cWe are looking to collaborate on, produce and acquire documentaries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From an acquisition standpoint, Levenson explains, \u201cWhen we\u2019re looking for programming, we\u2019re looking for something that\u2019s going to rise above and have a very distinct tone, style and target audience. There is so much competition in the marketplace and there are so many shows that it\u2019s not enough for a program to be OK, it has to be great to shine through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She adds that the company is also interested in \u201cgetting involved in projects earlier so we can help potentially shape them for the international market and make them as sellable as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Moving forward, GRB is looking to expand its library of digital content. \u201cWhat is so exciting [about digital] is that programming doesn\u2019t have to be any particular length,\u201d Benz notes. \u201cIt can be five minutes, ten minutes, 20 minutes, short-form, long-form\u2014you\u2019re no longer confined to having to do shows with commercial breaks, so that unleashes new creativity and voices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom a sales perspective, platforms are changing more rapidly than ever before,\u201d Levenson says. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to seeing where things go and developing new ways of structuring deals and business models in order to take advantage of digital platforms when they\u2019re available.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gary R. Benz, president and CEO, and Liz Levenson, the director of international sales and acquisitions, speak about factual programming trends and the company\u2019s future plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":477,"featured_media":8339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[540,170,541,542,543],"class_list":["post-8338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-gary-r-benz","tag-grb-entertainment","tag-liz-levenson","tag-nelson-serrano-im-innocent","tag-on-the-case-with-paula-zahn","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>GRB Rides the True-Crime Wave - 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\/grb-entertainment-rides-the-true-crime-wave\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GRB Rides the True-Crime Wave - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gary R. 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