The Cinemart, the production company behind Amazon’s “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” and Netflix’s “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” has signed an overall deal with Banijay’s Truly Original.
Under the new pact, The Cinemart will expand its development and production operations in premium documentaries and other genres of unscripted programming through Truly Original, a subsidiary of Banijay backed by co-CEOs Steven Weinstock and Glenda Hersh.
Run by co-CEOs and producing partners Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro, The Cinemart was founded by Nason in 2011. The production company’s programming lineup currently includes “Welcome to Leith” (PBS), “The Kalief Browder Story” (Paramount), “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story” (Paramount), “Fyre Fraud” (Hulu), “LulaRich” and “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” (Amazon), “The Pharmacist” and “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” (Netflix), with numerous features and series in production and development.
Truly Original’s notable series include “Ink Master,...
Under the new pact, The Cinemart will expand its development and production operations in premium documentaries and other genres of unscripted programming through Truly Original, a subsidiary of Banijay backed by co-CEOs Steven Weinstock and Glenda Hersh.
Run by co-CEOs and producing partners Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro, The Cinemart was founded by Nason in 2011. The production company’s programming lineup currently includes “Welcome to Leith” (PBS), “The Kalief Browder Story” (Paramount), “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story” (Paramount), “Fyre Fraud” (Hulu), “LulaRich” and “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” (Amazon), “The Pharmacist” and “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” (Netflix), with numerous features and series in production and development.
Truly Original’s notable series include “Ink Master,...
- 5/7/2024
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
While we can't say for sure which of these genres are "the best and the worst" for obvious reasons, it is absolutely true to say that they are all received differently by audiences.
Viewers value comedies for their lightness and ability to make us laugh, and they value dramas, especially true crime dramas, for the opportunity to be part of a dangerous story without actually being in danger.
And for fans of all things thrilling and exciting, here are the 5 best true crime dramas to binge on Netflix.
1. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
The documentary was created by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason. It follows the tragic true story of a boating accident that took the life of beloved young Mallory Beach. The terrible thing about this story is that it makes us realize that everything in this world can be corrupt, and in this particular case,...
Viewers value comedies for their lightness and ability to make us laugh, and they value dramas, especially true crime dramas, for the opportunity to be part of a dangerous story without actually being in danger.
And for fans of all things thrilling and exciting, here are the 5 best true crime dramas to binge on Netflix.
1. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
The documentary was created by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason. It follows the tragic true story of a boating accident that took the life of beloved young Mallory Beach. The terrible thing about this story is that it makes us realize that everything in this world can be corrupt, and in this particular case,...
- 4/21/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Rachel Bailey)
- STartefacts.com
“Sex Education” Season 4 opened to 12 million total views during the Sept. 18-24 viewing window, subsequently ending the No. 1 streak of One Piece” on Netflix Top 10’s English-language TV chart and bringing the Moordale students’ story to a close on a high note.
The finale featured several new faces alongside the original crew including “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy, Thaddea Graham (“Doctor Who”), Lisa McGrillis (“Somewhere Boy”), Marie Reuther (“Kamikaze”), Jodie Turner Smith, Eshaan Akbar.
“One Piece” remains fairly high above the competition, landing in third place on the chart. After recently scoring a Season 2 pickup, the show gained another 6.2 million total views in its third full week of availability.
In its first four days of availability, the live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga quickly sailed to the top of Netflix’s top 10 chart with 18.5 million total views. During the Aug. 28-Sept. 3 viewing window, the series reached the Top 10 in 93 countries,...
The finale featured several new faces alongside the original crew including “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy, Thaddea Graham (“Doctor Who”), Lisa McGrillis (“Somewhere Boy”), Marie Reuther (“Kamikaze”), Jodie Turner Smith, Eshaan Akbar.
“One Piece” remains fairly high above the competition, landing in third place on the chart. After recently scoring a Season 2 pickup, the show gained another 6.2 million total views in its third full week of availability.
In its first four days of availability, the live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga quickly sailed to the top of Netflix’s top 10 chart with 18.5 million total views. During the Aug. 28-Sept. 3 viewing window, the series reached the Top 10 in 93 countries,...
- 9/26/2023
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix sure owes a lot to horrific crimes being committed. The streaming service has had massive hits with such true crime documentaries as the truly harrowing "American Murder: The Family Next Door," "The Staircase," and the original Netflix crime doc phenomenon "Making a Murderer." The list of Netflix true crime documentaries is seemingly endless, and it's only growing year after year as our obsession with real-life acts of shocking barbarity shows no signs of abating.
Earlier this year the cinematic true crime series "Missing: Dead or Alive?" found its way into the Netflix Top 10. But that wasn't the first true crime hit for Netflix this year. That honor belongs to "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal." Across three episodes, the series laid out the events surrounding the downfall of prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, who in 2023 was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. From directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason,...
Earlier this year the cinematic true crime series "Missing: Dead or Alive?" found its way into the Netflix Top 10. But that wasn't the first true crime hit for Netflix this year. That honor belongs to "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal." Across three episodes, the series laid out the events surrounding the downfall of prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, who in 2023 was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. From directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason,...
- 9/24/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
“Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” is back. Three new episodes of the Netflix docuseries dropped on Wednesday, providing a closer look at the days leading up to the 2021 murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, and what happened between those deaths and Alex Murdaugh’s conviction in March 2023.
While the first season, which premiered on Feb. 22, led up to the trial, Michael Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason, the docuseries’ director/executive producers, knew there was more story to tell.
“We kind of had a lot in the wings ready to go, and a lot of unfinished business essentially that we were really excited to dive back into,” Willoughby Nason says. “When I saw the witnesses on the stand during that six-week trial, I wanted to interview them. I wanted to see what they really wanted to say. So we won’t run a rehash anything, but we wanted to go more...
While the first season, which premiered on Feb. 22, led up to the trial, Michael Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason, the docuseries’ director/executive producers, knew there was more story to tell.
“We kind of had a lot in the wings ready to go, and a lot of unfinished business essentially that we were really excited to dive back into,” Willoughby Nason says. “When I saw the witnesses on the stand during that six-week trial, I wanted to interview them. I wanted to see what they really wanted to say. So we won’t run a rehash anything, but we wanted to go more...
- 9/20/2023
- by Emily Longeretta
- Variety Film + TV
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal Season 2 primarily serves as a rehash of Alex Murdaugh's early 2023 trial, but the third episode, "A Tangled Web We Weave," offers something different: a sit-down interview with Curtis "Cousin Eddie" Smith. Smith has spoken to the media in the past, but the Netflix docuseries marks his first major interview since Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in what's been called South Carolina's "trial of the century." It's a big get by directors/executive producers Michael Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason, and they make the most of the opportunity, asking Smith about Murdaugh's drug use, his involvement in the suicide-for-hire and check-cashing schemes, and the double homicide.
- 9/20/2023
- by Claire Spellberg Lustig
- Primetimer
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is returning for a second season. Netflix has renewed the true crime series, and new episodes will arrive on the streaming service later this month.
The show follows the events surrounding Alex Murdaugh and the murders of his wife and son. Michael Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason are executive producers of the series, and three episodes have been produced for season two.
Read More…...
The show follows the events surrounding Alex Murdaugh and the murders of his wife and son. Michael Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason are executive producers of the series, and three episodes have been produced for season two.
Read More…...
- 9/5/2023
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
A scene from ‘Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal’ (Photo Credit: Netflix)
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal season one’s director/executive producer Julia Willoughby Nason and executive producer/showrunner Michael Gasparro are continuing to explore the infamous Murdaugh family with season two of the Netflix documentary series. Netflix has confirmed season two of Murdaugh Murders will consist of three new episodes, premiering on September 20, 2023.
Season one was a deep dive into the Murdaughs, one of South Carolina’s most prominent – and now controversial – families. Season two picks up the story in the aftermath of family patriarch Alex Murdaugh’s murder conviction.
Netflix offers this synopsis of the upcoming second season directed by Willoughby Nason and Gasparro:
“On March 2, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. The world watched with bated breath as a verdict was announced. The people of the Lowcountry had...
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal season one’s director/executive producer Julia Willoughby Nason and executive producer/showrunner Michael Gasparro are continuing to explore the infamous Murdaugh family with season two of the Netflix documentary series. Netflix has confirmed season two of Murdaugh Murders will consist of three new episodes, premiering on September 20, 2023.
Season one was a deep dive into the Murdaughs, one of South Carolina’s most prominent – and now controversial – families. Season two picks up the story in the aftermath of family patriarch Alex Murdaugh’s murder conviction.
Netflix offers this synopsis of the upcoming second season directed by Willoughby Nason and Gasparro:
“On March 2, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. The world watched with bated breath as a verdict was announced. The people of the Lowcountry had...
- 8/31/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal will be back with more. Netflix announced today it has ordered a second season of the three-part documentary series, which will premiere globally on September 20 on the streamer.
Directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, Season 1 of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal takes on one of the most sensational murder cases in recent years, one that saw prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh accused in the shocking deaths of his wife and son. In March, he was sentenced to life in prison for shooting his wife with a rifle and blasting his son with a shotgun.
The renewal news comes the same week that it was reported Murdaugh had agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud charges in a separate case that alleged he stole millions of dollars from clients. Additionally, his son Buster today is to appear on Fox Nation’s special The Fall of the House of Murdaugh...
Directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, Season 1 of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal takes on one of the most sensational murder cases in recent years, one that saw prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh accused in the shocking deaths of his wife and son. In March, he was sentenced to life in prison for shooting his wife with a rifle and blasting his son with a shotgun.
The renewal news comes the same week that it was reported Murdaugh had agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud charges in a separate case that alleged he stole millions of dollars from clients. Additionally, his son Buster today is to appear on Fox Nation’s special The Fall of the House of Murdaugh...
- 8/31/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has ordered a second season of the documentary series “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.” Season 2 will premiere with all three episodes on September 20.
The series covers the true story of Alex Murdaugh, who was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul in 2021. Season 2 will feature first-hand accounts from those who were there the days leading up to and following the murders, including the family’s former housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, Libby Murdaugh’s caregiver Mushelle “Shelly” Smith, Alex Murdaugh’s cousin Curtis Edward Smith and juror Gwen Generette. Returning voices from Season 1 include Paul’s ex-girlfriend Morgan Doughty, Paul’s friend Anthony Cook and Wall Street Journal reporter Valerie Bauerlein.
Season 1 of “Murdaugh Murders” debuted as Murdaugh’s trial was actively unfolding. It premiered on Feb. 22 and Murdaugh was found guilty of both murders on March 2. The attention on the case propelled the series to solid viewership numbers,...
The series covers the true story of Alex Murdaugh, who was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul in 2021. Season 2 will feature first-hand accounts from those who were there the days leading up to and following the murders, including the family’s former housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, Libby Murdaugh’s caregiver Mushelle “Shelly” Smith, Alex Murdaugh’s cousin Curtis Edward Smith and juror Gwen Generette. Returning voices from Season 1 include Paul’s ex-girlfriend Morgan Doughty, Paul’s friend Anthony Cook and Wall Street Journal reporter Valerie Bauerlein.
Season 1 of “Murdaugh Murders” debuted as Murdaugh’s trial was actively unfolding. It premiered on Feb. 22 and Murdaugh was found guilty of both murders on March 2. The attention on the case propelled the series to solid viewership numbers,...
- 8/31/2023
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Gruesome tales of grisly murder. Horror stories of kids in cults. False confessions and authentic admissions.
True crime has taken over the documentary space, proving a reliable audience attractor for streaming platforms, network and cable channels. While it’s the most popular genre within nonfiction programming broadly speaking, whether that will translate to success with Emmy voters remains an open question. One thing’s for certain: there’s no lack of contenders — twisted tales dripping with blood.
Netflix leads the way with multiple suitors, among them Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, the grim story of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, built largely around recorded interviews between Dahmer and one of his young defense attorneys in the early 1990s. It’s directed and executive produced by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger, one of the leading figures in documentary.
“As a storyteller, I thought the...
True crime has taken over the documentary space, proving a reliable audience attractor for streaming platforms, network and cable channels. While it’s the most popular genre within nonfiction programming broadly speaking, whether that will translate to success with Emmy voters remains an open question. One thing’s for certain: there’s no lack of contenders — twisted tales dripping with blood.
Netflix leads the way with multiple suitors, among them Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes, the grim story of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, built largely around recorded interviews between Dahmer and one of his young defense attorneys in the early 1990s. It’s directed and executive produced by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger, one of the leading figures in documentary.
“As a storyteller, I thought the...
- 6/3/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Lately, our interest in religious cults seems to be peaking, and many have capitalized on this genre. From movies like Women Talking, the Netflix documentary Keep Sweet, Prey, and Obey, and FX’s terrifying Under the Banner of Heaven, about the true-life events of Brenda Lafferty, it is an endless row that keeps growing and growing. Amazon Prime’s Shiny Happy People is the latest to have been added to this list of horrifying yet addictive shows. As someone who lives on the other side of the world, I had never heard of 19 Kids and Counting, so maybe it was my oblivion that led to the complete and utter shock I felt right from the beginning of Shiny Happy People. For the uninitiated like myself or even as someone who has no understanding at all of fundamentalism, this show is easy to comprehend and gives a deep insight into the inner workings of the Iblp,...
- 6/2/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
The saga behind Netflix’s Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal was a monster to take on, with added pressure on the filmmakers as details unfolded in real time while they were in production. Directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, the doc series chronicles the powerful and wealthy Murdaugh family in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and several criminal investigations into unsolved deaths surrounding the family — culminating in the trial and sentencing of former lawyer Alex Murdaugh for the 2021 murder of his wife and son. Investigators say the same son, Paul, caused a boating accident in 2019 that killed his friend Mallory Beach.
Furthermore, the documentary was released before Murdaugh was sentenced on March 2. Willoughby Nason says the story is far from over, given that the investigations into the family are still active.
Willoughby Nason spoke to THR about the challenges (and trepidations) of taking on such complicated subject...
Furthermore, the documentary was released before Murdaugh was sentenced on March 2. Willoughby Nason says the story is far from over, given that the investigations into the family are still active.
Willoughby Nason spoke to THR about the challenges (and trepidations) of taking on such complicated subject...
- 6/1/2023
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The sentencing of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh for the murders of his wife and son is unlikely to end the public’s fascination with the family: There are already TV specials, docuseries and podcasts about the slayings and at least two scripted shows on the way.
Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after being convicted a day earlier of killing his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and their youngest son, Paul. He was found guilty on all charges, including two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in the commitment of a violent crime.
In June 2021, Maggie and Paul were found shot to death on the family’s estate in Colleton County, South Carolina. But the prominent family’s legacy began unraveling years earlier when questions arose following the death of Mallory Beach in a boating accident involving Paul, the unsolved 2015 death...
Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison on Friday after being convicted a day earlier of killing his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and their youngest son, Paul. He was found guilty on all charges, including two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in the commitment of a violent crime.
In June 2021, Maggie and Paul were found shot to death on the family’s estate in Colleton County, South Carolina. But the prominent family’s legacy began unraveling years earlier when questions arose following the death of Mallory Beach in a boating accident involving Paul, the unsolved 2015 death...
- 3/4/2023
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix’s latest true crime documentary focuses on the sinister case of Alex Murdaugh.
Over the course of three episodes, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal recounts the story of Murdaugh, a 54-year-old who was placed on trial for killing his wife and one of his sons in 2021.
On Thursday (2 March), days after the documentary was released, Murdaugh was found guilty on two counts of murder and two weapons charges, following a six-week trial.
You can keep up to date with the latest developments on the story here.
Here’s a breakdown of what the Netflix documentary covers, and more information on its production...
Murdaugh Murders explores Murdaugh’s background as the powerful heir to an influential South Carolina legal dynasty.
Members of the Murdaugh family often held prominent roles in the legal profession, from lead prosecutors to solicitors to District Attorneys. It is claimed in the documentary that this influence...
Over the course of three episodes, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal recounts the story of Murdaugh, a 54-year-old who was placed on trial for killing his wife and one of his sons in 2021.
On Thursday (2 March), days after the documentary was released, Murdaugh was found guilty on two counts of murder and two weapons charges, following a six-week trial.
You can keep up to date with the latest developments on the story here.
Here’s a breakdown of what the Netflix documentary covers, and more information on its production...
Murdaugh Murders explores Murdaugh’s background as the powerful heir to an influential South Carolina legal dynasty.
Members of the Murdaugh family often held prominent roles in the legal profession, from lead prosecutors to solicitors to District Attorneys. It is claimed in the documentary that this influence...
- 3/3/2023
- by Louis Chilton
- The Independent - TV
Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and son on Thursday, marking the conclusion of a six-week trial that has gripped the nation.
According to The New York Times, a jury in Colleton County, S.C., declared that Murdaugh, a formerly well-respected lawyer in the Lowcountry region of the state, had killed Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021. The jury also found him guilty on two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The verdict was unanimous, and the jurors made their decision in less than three hours.
The case reached national attention when Netflix released a docuseries, “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” on Feb. 22. Directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, the doc has been a mainstay in Netflix’s most-watched TV shows since its release, bolstered by the fact that Murdaugh’s trial was unfolding at the same time.
According to The New York Times, a jury in Colleton County, S.C., declared that Murdaugh, a formerly well-respected lawyer in the Lowcountry region of the state, had killed Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021. The jury also found him guilty on two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The verdict was unanimous, and the jurors made their decision in less than three hours.
The case reached national attention when Netflix released a docuseries, “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” on Feb. 22. Directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason, the doc has been a mainstay in Netflix’s most-watched TV shows since its release, bolstered by the fact that Murdaugh’s trial was unfolding at the same time.
- 3/3/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to wait until a case is all wrapped up before giving it the true crime docuseries treatment. Some cases are so explosive, however, that documentarians just can’t wait to get their cameras on it. Such are the circumstances with the story of South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh.
In fact, even though the trial of Alex Murdaugh is ongoing and fresh revelations about his crimes are being uncovered almost daily, one could argue that Netflix is getting into the Murdaugh game late with its three-episode series, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. Many media entities have already tried their hand at explaining this shifty saga of murder, corruption, and cover-up from HBO Max’s Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty to ID’s The Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty.
By waiting just a little bit longer than its peers, Netflix hopes that it can present the...
In fact, even though the trial of Alex Murdaugh is ongoing and fresh revelations about his crimes are being uncovered almost daily, one could argue that Netflix is getting into the Murdaugh game late with its three-episode series, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. Many media entities have already tried their hand at explaining this shifty saga of murder, corruption, and cover-up from HBO Max’s Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty to ID’s The Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty.
By waiting just a little bit longer than its peers, Netflix hopes that it can present the...
- 2/23/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason were never short on angles through which to investigate the crimes, casualties and collusions of the powerful Murdaugh family of South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
The most obvious one would have been to tell the story through Alex Murdaugh, a former solicitor who’s currently on trial for the 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. Thanks to dozens of live feeds on YouTube, the ongoing courtroom drama has emerged as the trial of the year.
But once they were on the ground in the Lowcountry, the directors behind Netflix’s new docuseries “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” were told there was only one place to start –– the 2019 boat crash that had killed Mallory Beach.
“I think what people don’t understand is that had there not been a boat crash years prior, and had Mallory Beach not died the way she did...
The most obvious one would have been to tell the story through Alex Murdaugh, a former solicitor who’s currently on trial for the 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. Thanks to dozens of live feeds on YouTube, the ongoing courtroom drama has emerged as the trial of the year.
But once they were on the ground in the Lowcountry, the directors behind Netflix’s new docuseries “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal” were told there was only one place to start –– the 2019 boat crash that had killed Mallory Beach.
“I think what people don’t understand is that had there not been a boat crash years prior, and had Mallory Beach not died the way she did...
- 2/22/2023
- by Hunter Ingram
- Variety Film + TV
If you have a taste for lurid news you probably know that Alex Murdaugh is currently on trial in Walterboro, South Carolina, for the murder of his wife and younger son. It’s the kind of story that makes true-crime mavens drool: a once-prominent, now-disgraced lawyer is charged with bloody heinousness. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, a new three-part Netflix docuseries, is either incredibly timely or brazenly opportunistic — or, most likely, both. It provides a crash course in the scandals and deaths that have engulfed the old-money Murdaugh family for years,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is a docseries directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason.
Five bodies in six years and all related to the Murdaughs, one of the most powerful families of South Carolina and which brought to us by Netflix in this new “true-crime” that is well constructed and executed with precision, managing to do what it sets out to do.
About the Series
Lots of people criticise true-crime products as sensationalistic, in search of cheap thrills and which are basically documentaries that like to poke a finger in the wound, to dig in with the morbid spectator, morbidity of crime itself.
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is this precisely.
Yet it is very well done and uses all the arsenal of a very morbid, fanciful and incredible story.
Very well told, nonetheless, and which also has all the elements to attract fans of this genre: a story that producers enjoy,...
Five bodies in six years and all related to the Murdaughs, one of the most powerful families of South Carolina and which brought to us by Netflix in this new “true-crime” that is well constructed and executed with precision, managing to do what it sets out to do.
About the Series
Lots of people criticise true-crime products as sensationalistic, in search of cheap thrills and which are basically documentaries that like to poke a finger in the wound, to dig in with the morbid spectator, morbidity of crime itself.
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is this precisely.
Yet it is very well done and uses all the arsenal of a very morbid, fanciful and incredible story.
Very well told, nonetheless, and which also has all the elements to attract fans of this genre: a story that producers enjoy,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
Exclusive: Billy McFarland, the founder of the notorious Fyre Festival, is out of prison and starting his latest venture – returning to the Bahamas for a treasure hunt.
This time, it’s all being captured up front for a feature documentary from The Invisible Pilot producer Ample Entertainment and distributor Fremantle.
After the Fyre follows convicted felon McFarland as he was released from prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud and serving four years of his six year sentence.
The film will feature the disgraced entrepreneur as he launches his next business venture and attempts to pay back the 26 million dollars he still owes after scandalously defrauding investors, partners and attendees of the promised-but-botched luxurious music event that took place in 2017.
As you may have seen in either Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason and launched on January 14 2019, or Netflix’s Fyre,...
This time, it’s all being captured up front for a feature documentary from The Invisible Pilot producer Ample Entertainment and distributor Fremantle.
After the Fyre follows convicted felon McFarland as he was released from prison earlier this year after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud and serving four years of his six year sentence.
The film will feature the disgraced entrepreneur as he launches his next business venture and attempts to pay back the 26 million dollars he still owes after scandalously defrauding investors, partners and attendees of the promised-but-botched luxurious music event that took place in 2017.
As you may have seen in either Hulu’s Fyre Fraud, directed by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason and launched on January 14 2019, or Netflix’s Fyre,...
- 11/7/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinema Eye Honors, the organization that recognizes outstanding artistic achievement in nonfiction and documentary films & series, announced the first round of their 2023 awards and nominations at its annual Cinema Eye Fall Lunch held in Los Angeles.
In the five Broadcast categories, HBO film “Four Hours at the Capitol,” an inside look at the January 6th riot, led with three nominations: Broadcast Film, Broadcast Editing and Broadcast Cinematography. Other projects like the Disney+ docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” and Showtime’s “We Need to Talk About Cosby” also received more than one nomination.
Other announcements at the event include the annual Shorts List, which spotlights 10 of the year’s top documentary short films, and the recipient of the Legacy Award this year, Terry Zwigoff’s 1995 film “Crumb.”
“I’m glad to find out you don’t have to be dead to receive this award,” Zwigoff said in a written statement. “I...
In the five Broadcast categories, HBO film “Four Hours at the Capitol,” an inside look at the January 6th riot, led with three nominations: Broadcast Film, Broadcast Editing and Broadcast Cinematography. Other projects like the Disney+ docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” and Showtime’s “We Need to Talk About Cosby” also received more than one nomination.
Other announcements at the event include the annual Shorts List, which spotlights 10 of the year’s top documentary short films, and the recipient of the Legacy Award this year, Terry Zwigoff’s 1995 film “Crumb.”
“I’m glad to find out you don’t have to be dead to receive this award,” Zwigoff said in a written statement. “I...
- 10/20/2022
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The Cinema Eye Honors announced its first round of nominations today for artistic achievement in documentary film and series, with HBO’s Four Hours at the Capitol earning the most of any contender [full list below].
The documentary by Jamie Roberts about the January 6 insurrection scored nominations for Broadcast Film, Broadcast Editing and Broadcast Cinematography. Peter Jackson’s Disney+ series The Beatles: Get Back, landed two nominations — for Broadcast Series and Broadcast Editing. Get Back swept five Primetime Emmy categories last month.
‘Downfall: The Case Against Boeing’
Rory Kennedy’s Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, snubbed by the Emmys, earned a Cinema Eye Honors nomination for Broadcast Film. It will go up against Four Hours at the Capitol, and Emmy winner George Carlin’s American Dream, the two-part HBO film directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, among other contenders.
Nanfu Wang’s HBO docuseries Mind Over Murder, which premiered after the...
The documentary by Jamie Roberts about the January 6 insurrection scored nominations for Broadcast Film, Broadcast Editing and Broadcast Cinematography. Peter Jackson’s Disney+ series The Beatles: Get Back, landed two nominations — for Broadcast Series and Broadcast Editing. Get Back swept five Primetime Emmy categories last month.
‘Downfall: The Case Against Boeing’
Rory Kennedy’s Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, snubbed by the Emmys, earned a Cinema Eye Honors nomination for Broadcast Film. It will go up against Four Hours at the Capitol, and Emmy winner George Carlin’s American Dream, the two-part HBO film directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, among other contenders.
Nanfu Wang’s HBO docuseries Mind Over Murder, which premiered after the...
- 10/20/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
“Four Hours at the Capitol,” “The Beatles: Get Back,” “Playing With Sharks,” “We Need to Talk About Cosby,” “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” and “How To With John Wilson” are among the nonfiction television programs that have been nominated in the Cinema Eye Honors broadcast categories, Cinema Eye Honors announced at the organization’s annual fall lunch in Los Angeles on Thursday.
“Four Hours at the Capitol,” Jamie Roberts’ HBO film about the Jan. 6 insurrection, received three nominations to lead all programs. “Get Back,” “Cosby,” “Stanley Tucci,” “John Wilson” and “Playing With Sharks” each received two nominations.
Along with “Four Hours at the Capitol” and “Playing With Sharks,” broadcast film nominees were “Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes,” “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” and “George Carlin’s American Dream.” Nonfiction series nominees were “Get Back,” “Cosby,” “Black and Missing,” “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey,” “LuLaRich” and “Mind Over Murder.” Nominated anthology series...
“Four Hours at the Capitol,” Jamie Roberts’ HBO film about the Jan. 6 insurrection, received three nominations to lead all programs. “Get Back,” “Cosby,” “Stanley Tucci,” “John Wilson” and “Playing With Sharks” each received two nominations.
Along with “Four Hours at the Capitol” and “Playing With Sharks,” broadcast film nominees were “Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes,” “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” and “George Carlin’s American Dream.” Nonfiction series nominees were “Get Back,” “Cosby,” “Black and Missing,” “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey,” “LuLaRich” and “Mind Over Murder.” Nominated anthology series...
- 10/20/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Out of the bustling ecosystem of this season’s true crime dramas and docs, “The Dropout,” Hulu’s dynamic adaptation of the ABC News podcast about disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, has emerged as an innovative creation in the sub-genre of scam TV. But when she created the series, showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether didn’t see it that way at first.
“I never really thought of ‘The Dropout’ as a scam show,” she says. “I saw it as a character study.”
Meriwether accepts the placement of her series within the overall scam genre, which has never been more popular, but says there are more differences between the myriad projects than similarities.
“The quote-unquote scam that was committed is so different in each show, and I think that may be easy to lose sight of,” she says.
It’s impossible to name every possible flavor of schemes. As with “The Dropout,” the...
“I never really thought of ‘The Dropout’ as a scam show,” she says. “I saw it as a character study.”
Meriwether accepts the placement of her series within the overall scam genre, which has never been more popular, but says there are more differences between the myriad projects than similarities.
“The quote-unquote scam that was committed is so different in each show, and I think that may be easy to lose sight of,” she says.
It’s impossible to name every possible flavor of schemes. As with “The Dropout,” the...
- 5/26/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
There is no shortage of documentaries to enjoy on television these days and the Emmy races for non-fiction categories are poised to reflect that. The creative forces behind four of those documentaries and series joined our recent Meet the Experts panel that covered subjects that included chronicling survivors of sexual abuse, celebrities reading letters from people whose lives were changed by them, the career of America’s top infectious disease doctor and a multi-level marketing company that specialized in women’s leggings.
In our roundtable conversation, we hear what the directors and producers behind these projects got them interested in making non-fiction material and the documentaries that leave them feeling good. Gold Derby recently discussed this and more with Aly Raisman (“Ally Raisman: Darkness to Light”), Donny Jackson (“Dear…”), John Hoffman and Janet Tobias (“Fauci”) and Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason (“LuLaRich”).
You can watch the television documentary group...
In our roundtable conversation, we hear what the directors and producers behind these projects got them interested in making non-fiction material and the documentaries that leave them feeling good. Gold Derby recently discussed this and more with Aly Raisman (“Ally Raisman: Darkness to Light”), Donny Jackson (“Dear…”), John Hoffman and Janet Tobias (“Fauci”) and Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason (“LuLaRich”).
You can watch the television documentary group...
- 5/20/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
In making “LuLaRich,” Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason both talk about how they came up with the idea of “true comedy.” “Everybody knows true crime, everybody knows true con and we called it a ‘true comedy.’ The reality is that we saw so many similarities with ‘Fyre Fraud,’ that we understood the language for telling a story like this,” Furst tells Gold Derby during our Meet the Experts: TV Documentary panel (watch the exclusive video interview above). He clarifies that the film doesn’t poke fun, laugh at people as a spectacle or in an exploitative way. “We’re ultimately laughing at ourselves because, in the end… we’re actually part of the problem and I think that all of our work has shown that.”
“LuLaRich,” which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, takes an in-depth look at the LuLaRoe women’s clothing company that was accused of being a pyramid scheme.
“LuLaRich,” which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video, takes an in-depth look at the LuLaRoe women’s clothing company that was accused of being a pyramid scheme.
- 5/20/2022
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Six top TV documentary filmmakers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, May 17, at 6:00 p.m. Pt; 9:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our contributing editor Charles Bright and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.
RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 contenders:
Aly Raisman: Darkness to Light (Lifetime)
Synopsis: Aly Raisman helps victims of sexual assault find their voice in order to start healing and turn from victim to survivor.
Bio: Aly Raisman was an American gymnast and captain of the U.
RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 contenders:
Aly Raisman: Darkness to Light (Lifetime)
Synopsis: Aly Raisman helps victims of sexual assault find their voice in order to start healing and turn from victim to survivor.
Bio: Aly Raisman was an American gymnast and captain of the U.
- 5/11/2022
- by Chris Beachum and Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason have become pioneers in a new genre within the true-crime category, something they call “true comedy.”
The directors/executive producers earned an Emmy nomination for their 2019 documentary Fyre Fraud, about the luxe music festival that turned hilariously bad. Their latest docuseries, LuLaRich, from Amazon Prime Video, takes a comedic look at the rise and fall of LuLaRoe, a clothing company known for leggings that featured pizza slice prints, grinning pineapples, bespectacled canines and other fanciful designs.
Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted — Deadline’s Complete Coverage
LuLaRoe was founded by DeAnne and Mark Stidham, a couple steeped in the ways of multi-level marketing – businesses set up like Amway and Avon that sell direct to consumers.
“They started in their garage and they had to keep expanding and expanding until they had all their inventory out in a parking lot, which led to it being infested by...
The directors/executive producers earned an Emmy nomination for their 2019 documentary Fyre Fraud, about the luxe music festival that turned hilariously bad. Their latest docuseries, LuLaRich, from Amazon Prime Video, takes a comedic look at the rise and fall of LuLaRoe, a clothing company known for leggings that featured pizza slice prints, grinning pineapples, bespectacled canines and other fanciful designs.
Contenders TV Docs + Unscripted — Deadline’s Complete Coverage
LuLaRoe was founded by DeAnne and Mark Stidham, a couple steeped in the ways of multi-level marketing – businesses set up like Amway and Avon that sell direct to consumers.
“They started in their garage and they had to keep expanding and expanding until they had all their inventory out in a parking lot, which led to it being infested by...
- 4/23/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Best Ever Channels and The Stand Group announced Tuesday the launch of a new Fast (free ad-supported streaming TV) comedy channel Witz. Featuring stand-up comedy specials, talk shows and curated library programming, the channel is set to launch later this year.
Fast channels are designed to mimic live television with ads, as opposed to on-demand subscription-based services like Netflix and Hulu. In collaboration with tech supplier Wurl, Witz will broadcast “true live” feeds with real-time stand-up performances from comedians. Additionally, the channel will feature newly produced stand-up specials from Rich Vos titled “Vos Anonymous”, Derek Gaines’ pandemic special called “Why Was I Home Anyway?,” Laurie Kilmartin’s “45 Jokes About My Dead Dad” and Aaron Berg “Stands Down.”
“We think the new homerun in comedy is to mirror the physical comedy experience with a digital one.” said The Stand Group’s partner Cris Italia. “With their technical, syndication and marketing prowess,...
Fast channels are designed to mimic live television with ads, as opposed to on-demand subscription-based services like Netflix and Hulu. In collaboration with tech supplier Wurl, Witz will broadcast “true live” feeds with real-time stand-up performances from comedians. Additionally, the channel will feature newly produced stand-up specials from Rich Vos titled “Vos Anonymous”, Derek Gaines’ pandemic special called “Why Was I Home Anyway?,” Laurie Kilmartin’s “45 Jokes About My Dead Dad” and Aaron Berg “Stands Down.”
“We think the new homerun in comedy is to mirror the physical comedy experience with a digital one.” said The Stand Group’s partner Cris Italia. “With their technical, syndication and marketing prowess,...
- 1/25/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: A Slight Change of Plans, one of the breakout podcasts of the year, is being adapted as a television documentary series from the team behind docs including Fyre Fraud and LuLaRich.
The Cinemart, which is also behind Time: The Kalief Browder Story, has acquired the rights to the audio series from host and creator Dr. Maya Shankar and Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries.
Shankar, who served as Senior Advisor in President Barack Obama’s White House, is a cognitive scientist who studies how and why we change and the series looks at how people navigate changes of all kinds.
The series, which was named as the best show of the year by Apple, featured the likes of Tiffany Haddish, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Riz Ahmed and Kacey Musgraves as well as those such as a young man who builds cancer detection tools and who finds himself in the throes of his own stage 4 diagnosis,...
The Cinemart, which is also behind Time: The Kalief Browder Story, has acquired the rights to the audio series from host and creator Dr. Maya Shankar and Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries.
Shankar, who served as Senior Advisor in President Barack Obama’s White House, is a cognitive scientist who studies how and why we change and the series looks at how people navigate changes of all kinds.
The series, which was named as the best show of the year by Apple, featured the likes of Tiffany Haddish, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Riz Ahmed and Kacey Musgraves as well as those such as a young man who builds cancer detection tools and who finds himself in the throes of his own stage 4 diagnosis,...
- 12/8/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”
Wonder Woman approves of Robert Pattinson as the new Batman and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman!
“Rob looks amazing,” Gal Gadot told me last night at Elle’s Women in Hollywood event at the Academy Museum when I asked if she had seen the new “The Batman” trailer. “I love his voice and I love the whole tone of everything.
“And I love Zoë. She looks incredible. She’s a sweetheart. She’s a talented woman,” she continued. “And I’m so happy to have another female as a comrade.”
So when does Gadot think we’ll see an all-female superhero movie with Wonder Woman? “That’s a good question,” she said. “We should ask [DC Films president] Walter Hamada.”
Gadot added with a laugh, “Actually, I’m going to write that in my notes to ask him.”
Unfortunately, former Catwoman Halle Berry...
Wonder Woman approves of Robert Pattinson as the new Batman and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman!
“Rob looks amazing,” Gal Gadot told me last night at Elle’s Women in Hollywood event at the Academy Museum when I asked if she had seen the new “The Batman” trailer. “I love his voice and I love the whole tone of everything.
“And I love Zoë. She looks incredible. She’s a sweetheart. She’s a talented woman,” she continued. “And I’m so happy to have another female as a comrade.”
So when does Gadot think we’ll see an all-female superhero movie with Wonder Woman? “That’s a good question,” she said. “We should ask [DC Films president] Walter Hamada.”
Gadot added with a laugh, “Actually, I’m going to write that in my notes to ask him.”
Unfortunately, former Catwoman Halle Berry...
- 10/20/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
At first glance, it’s unclear whether the auditorium — filled with rows of theater-style seating broken up by wide aisles that lead to what appears to be either a stage or an altar — is a place of worship or the largest available conference room at the local Marriott. With the exception of a baby, the audience is a sea of white women wearing brightly colored and in some cases heavily patterned articles of clothing.
Some are standing up at their seats. Others have moved into the aisles. Quite a few...
Some are standing up at their seats. Others have moved into the aisles. Quite a few...
- 9/18/2021
- by Elizabeth Yuko
- Rollingstone.com
On Friday, Amazon Prime Video dropped “LuLaRich,” a four-part docuseries that exposes the misdeeds of clothing company/pyramid scheme LuLaRoe. In “LuLaRich,” directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason delve into the history of the company, leading up to its implosion when LuLaRoe’s runaway growth caused quality issues and supply chain meltdowns, among myriad other problems.
But stalwart LuLaRoe consultants — and they still do exist — have tried to weaponize Amazon’s five-star ratings system against “LuLaRich.” Using a Facebook group for retailers of LuLaRoe clothing, one LuLaRoe retailer posted, “If anyone wants to give it a one star review to bring down the ratings …” and then pasted a link to the reviews area for “LuLaRich.”
At the time of this story publishing, “LuLaRich” had gotten 1,699 global ratings, for an average of 4.6 out of five stars. Eighty-eight percent of the reviews are five stars and 9% are one star, with almost nothing in between.
But stalwart LuLaRoe consultants — and they still do exist — have tried to weaponize Amazon’s five-star ratings system against “LuLaRich.” Using a Facebook group for retailers of LuLaRoe clothing, one LuLaRoe retailer posted, “If anyone wants to give it a one star review to bring down the ratings …” and then pasted a link to the reviews area for “LuLaRich.”
At the time of this story publishing, “LuLaRich” had gotten 1,699 global ratings, for an average of 4.6 out of five stars. Eighty-eight percent of the reviews are five stars and 9% are one star, with almost nothing in between.
- 9/13/2021
- by Kate Aurthur
- Variety Film + TV
Lately, it feels like documentaries are in a rush to capitalize on the next big scandal, whether it’s the mullet-cut world of Joe Exotic or the privileged attendees of the Fyre festival. The desire to create a guilty exposé of an unknown world can lead to stories where the scandal isn’t as obvious as the surrounding peculiarities. In other cases, like Amazon Prime Video’s “LulaRich,” a docuseries hits paydirt. Directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason — who, incidentally, directed Hulu’s “Fyre Fraud” documentary in 2019 — craft a thrilling, nightmarish story that combines elements of fashion, feminism, and fraud all in one beautiful package.
In 2018 the first major report on the multi-level-marketing company (MLMs), LulaRoe, was published in Bloomberg. The company, touting female empowerment through the selling of leggings and maxi skirts, was not only battling numerous lawsuits but several claims that they were a pyramid scheme. The...
In 2018 the first major report on the multi-level-marketing company (MLMs), LulaRoe, was published in Bloomberg. The company, touting female empowerment through the selling of leggings and maxi skirts, was not only battling numerous lawsuits but several claims that they were a pyramid scheme. The...
- 9/10/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
The forensic breakdown of corporate greed may be the defining artwork of this historical moment.
From the dueling Fyre Festival documentaries of 2019 to the multiple filmed and written explorations of overweening founders like Adam Neumann (WeWork) and Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos), there’s a sort of giddy weightlessness in watching the mighty brought low, and seeing the plebes who worked for them elevated, for a moment, to star-witness status. At a moment in which inequality seems more pronounced, and more top-of-mind, than ever in Americans’ lifetimes, there’s potential for real analysis of the chaos of the global economy in each of these stories — but what people are tuning in for is the carnage.
So it is with “LuLaRich,” a new Amazon Prime Video series that makes a worthy addition to its genre. It serves up both a sense of what multilevel marketing does to those who participate in it and...
From the dueling Fyre Festival documentaries of 2019 to the multiple filmed and written explorations of overweening founders like Adam Neumann (WeWork) and Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos), there’s a sort of giddy weightlessness in watching the mighty brought low, and seeing the plebes who worked for them elevated, for a moment, to star-witness status. At a moment in which inequality seems more pronounced, and more top-of-mind, than ever in Americans’ lifetimes, there’s potential for real analysis of the chaos of the global economy in each of these stories — but what people are tuning in for is the carnage.
So it is with “LuLaRich,” a new Amazon Prime Video series that makes a worthy addition to its genre. It serves up both a sense of what multilevel marketing does to those who participate in it and...
- 9/9/2021
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason had only been working for a few months on “LuLaRich,” their docuseries about the clothing company LuLaRoe — which operates as a multi-level marketing company, a.k.a. a pyramid scheme — when they learned the company’s co-founders, DeAnne and Mark Stidham, were willing to sit down with them.
The project, which Furst and Nason directed for Amazon Studios, had been the idea of Cori Shepherd Stern and Blye Pagon Faust of Story Force Entertainment. Stern, who’s from Florida, had for years seen her friends from high school hawking LuLaRoe clothing all over her Facebook feed. “There were these cat leggings and pizza-print leggings — and not just one kind of pizza print, multiple pizza prints,” Stern recalled. “I was trying to figure out what the hell is going on.”
LulaRoe sold clothing — its signature item were the leggings Stern saw all over Facebook, oft-described...
The project, which Furst and Nason directed for Amazon Studios, had been the idea of Cori Shepherd Stern and Blye Pagon Faust of Story Force Entertainment. Stern, who’s from Florida, had for years seen her friends from high school hawking LuLaRoe clothing all over her Facebook feed. “There were these cat leggings and pizza-print leggings — and not just one kind of pizza print, multiple pizza prints,” Stern recalled. “I was trying to figure out what the hell is going on.”
LulaRoe sold clothing — its signature item were the leggings Stern saw all over Facebook, oft-described...
- 8/30/2021
- by Kate Aurthur
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon Prime Video announced that the investigative docuseries “LuLaRich” will drop on Sept. 10, and unveiled a trailer for the series.
“LuLaRich” is a four-part docuseries — from “Fyre Fraud” documentarians Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason — examining the pyramid scheme that was (and shockingly still is) LuLaRoe. The explosive growth of the clothing company, which began as a multi-level marketing scam in which people (mostly women) sold leggings to one another, while also signing up new retailers to be beneath them in the pyramid, has played out, as so many evil things do, mostly on Facebook. The doc series features former retailers and LulaRoe staffers as talking heads, who’ve tried to dig themselves out from their ruined lives.
Shockingly, LuLaRoe’s co-founders DeAnne and Mark Stidham also sat down for an interview with the filmmakers, and try to happy-talk their way out of what they’ve done. Their interview stands...
“LuLaRich” is a four-part docuseries — from “Fyre Fraud” documentarians Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason — examining the pyramid scheme that was (and shockingly still is) LuLaRoe. The explosive growth of the clothing company, which began as a multi-level marketing scam in which people (mostly women) sold leggings to one another, while also signing up new retailers to be beneath them in the pyramid, has played out, as so many evil things do, mostly on Facebook. The doc series features former retailers and LulaRoe staffers as talking heads, who’ve tried to dig themselves out from their ruined lives.
Shockingly, LuLaRoe’s co-founders DeAnne and Mark Stidham also sat down for an interview with the filmmakers, and try to happy-talk their way out of what they’ve done. Their interview stands...
- 8/16/2021
- by Kate Aurthur
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb TV is throwing its first big coming out party.
The Amazon-owned free streaming service has unveiled a slew of news today as part of its debut at the NewFronts advertising event.
The streamer has handed a series order to High School, a coming-of-age dramedy series based on the memoir from Tegan and Sara Quin from Housebroken co-creator Clea DuVall, Plan B Entertainment and Amazon Studios, and ordered three unscripted series, including one from country music star and American Idol judge Luke Bryan.
This comes after it revealed it was in development with a slew of a projects including a new comedy from The Good Place creator Mike Schur as well as a second season of LeBron James-exec produced docuseries Top Class and a first look at its reboot of Leverage.
Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi, Co-Heads of Content & Programming, IMDb TV, spoke to Deadline about all of the...
The Amazon-owned free streaming service has unveiled a slew of news today as part of its debut at the NewFronts advertising event.
The streamer has handed a series order to High School, a coming-of-age dramedy series based on the memoir from Tegan and Sara Quin from Housebroken co-creator Clea DuVall, Plan B Entertainment and Amazon Studios, and ordered three unscripted series, including one from country music star and American Idol judge Luke Bryan.
This comes after it revealed it was in development with a slew of a projects including a new comedy from The Good Place creator Mike Schur as well as a second season of LeBron James-exec produced docuseries Top Class and a first look at its reboot of Leverage.
Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi, Co-Heads of Content & Programming, IMDb TV, spoke to Deadline about all of the...
- 5/3/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
IMDb TV, Amazon’s free-streaming video service, has ratcheted up its spending on original content — and more broadly, the e-commerce giant is trying to make the case to Madison Avenue that it has amassed a huge audience for ad-supported video content.
At Amazon’s first NewFronts presentation for advertisers Monday, IMDb TV announced unscripted series with country star Luke Bryan and famed interior designer Jeff Lewis (“Flipping Out”). In addition, IMDb TV has ordered “On Call,” a new half-hour drama from prolific producer Dick Wolf and Wolf Entertainment, Universal Television and Attn:, following a pair of police officers on patrol in Long Beach, Calif., with each episode tracking the duo as they respond to a new radio call, arriving on the scene to resolve an incident.
Those will join a growing slate of originals at IMDb TV, the two-year-old AVOD service that competes with the likes of the Roku Channel,...
At Amazon’s first NewFronts presentation for advertisers Monday, IMDb TV announced unscripted series with country star Luke Bryan and famed interior designer Jeff Lewis (“Flipping Out”). In addition, IMDb TV has ordered “On Call,” a new half-hour drama from prolific producer Dick Wolf and Wolf Entertainment, Universal Television and Attn:, following a pair of police officers on patrol in Long Beach, Calif., with each episode tracking the duo as they respond to a new radio call, arriving on the scene to resolve an incident.
Those will join a growing slate of originals at IMDb TV, the two-year-old AVOD service that competes with the likes of the Roku Channel,...
- 5/3/2021
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: We hear that Cinemart, the documentary team of directors Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason and producer Mike Gasparro, is partnering on the documentary LuLaRich with Based on Media’s Blye Faust and Cori Shepherd Stern.
The doc will investigate LuLaRoe, the billion dollar clothing empire which has recently been accused of misleading thousands of American women with their multi-level marketing platform. Once promoted by Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson, the brand has gone from an aspirational movement to a trending “pyramid scheme” that is now the subject of multiple lawsuits.
LuLaRoe’s founders DeAnne and Mark Stidham have denied all allegations and have launched countersuits of their own, defending the company’s legitimacy and model. LuLaRoe is still fully operational and many women continue to enthusiastically promote the brand. The company has also dramatically reduced entry costs to attract new saleswomen during the pandemic and economic downturn.
The film...
The doc will investigate LuLaRoe, the billion dollar clothing empire which has recently been accused of misleading thousands of American women with their multi-level marketing platform. Once promoted by Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson, the brand has gone from an aspirational movement to a trending “pyramid scheme” that is now the subject of multiple lawsuits.
LuLaRoe’s founders DeAnne and Mark Stidham have denied all allegations and have launched countersuits of their own, defending the company’s legitimacy and model. LuLaRoe is still fully operational and many women continue to enthusiastically promote the brand. The company has also dramatically reduced entry costs to attract new saleswomen during the pandemic and economic downturn.
The film...
- 7/10/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: We can tell you first that Oscar- and Emmy-nominated producer David Permut has picked up the rights to produce a narrative adaptation of Netflix’s acclaimed docuseries The Pharmacist which premiered earlier this year.
Permut is producing the film through his Permut Presentations banner alongside Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason and Mike Gasparro at The Cinemart, the team that directed and produced the docuseries. Brandon Riley and Keenan Porterfield will serve as EPs.
The docuseries tells the story of Dan Schneider, a small-town pharmacist in Louisiana who took it upon himself in 1999 to seek justice after the mysterious murder of his teenage son. Through his own detective work, Dan discovers that his only son was addicted to opioids and was murdered while on a desperate attempt to buy oxycontin. His obsession with convicting his son’s murderer leads him to uncover a string of highly illegal pill-mills, and ultimately...
Permut is producing the film through his Permut Presentations banner alongside Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason and Mike Gasparro at The Cinemart, the team that directed and produced the docuseries. Brandon Riley and Keenan Porterfield will serve as EPs.
The docuseries tells the story of Dan Schneider, a small-town pharmacist in Louisiana who took it upon himself in 1999 to seek justice after the mysterious murder of his teenage son. Through his own detective work, Dan discovers that his only son was addicted to opioids and was murdered while on a desperate attempt to buy oxycontin. His obsession with convicting his son’s murderer leads him to uncover a string of highly illegal pill-mills, and ultimately...
- 7/9/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Retrofit Films is entering the shortform interactive content game with the first-ever minutelong Lgbtq Instagram soap series Hidden Canyons from creator Brant Rotnem. Co-directed by Fawzia Mirza (CBS’s The Red Line), the first season consists of 26 episodes that are a minute or less and follows seven friends as they navigate the relationships and challenges of Lgbtq life in the titular fictional city of Hidden Canyons. The first nine episodes will debut on the social media platform on May 17 at 5 p.m. Pt/8 p.m. Et. The remaining episodes air Wednesdays and Sundays through early August.
“We often see reductive depictions of the Lgbtq+ world in media,” said Rotnem. “I wanted to tell stories that speak to the nuances we don’t get to see. For instance, what is the community’s relationship to materialism and success? Should we structure romantic relationships like straight couples, or redefine them in our own way?...
“We often see reductive depictions of the Lgbtq+ world in media,” said Rotnem. “I wanted to tell stories that speak to the nuances we don’t get to see. For instance, what is the community’s relationship to materialism and success? Should we structure romantic relationships like straight couples, or redefine them in our own way?...
- 5/15/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Quibi and LeBron James’ Uninterrupted sports media company are teaming up for a new docuseries about a cheating scandal that has gone down in baseball infamy.
The short-form content platform has ordered “Sign Language” (working title), a series which aims to give viewers an inside look at the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal and its unprecedented fallout.
Per the logline for the series, it will look to “transcend the baseball diamond to explore larger themes of greed, cheating, corruption, sportsmanship, and social media activism.” News of the series comes around two months after it was announced that “Slow Burn” producers Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons are looking to hit a home run with a podcast about the Astros’ controversial World Series-winning 2017 season, which they then intend to adapt into a scripted series.
“Sign Language” also hails from investigative filmmaking company The Cinemart, which last year released the Hulu doc “Fyre Fraud...
The short-form content platform has ordered “Sign Language” (working title), a series which aims to give viewers an inside look at the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal and its unprecedented fallout.
Per the logline for the series, it will look to “transcend the baseball diamond to explore larger themes of greed, cheating, corruption, sportsmanship, and social media activism.” News of the series comes around two months after it was announced that “Slow Burn” producers Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons are looking to hit a home run with a podcast about the Astros’ controversial World Series-winning 2017 season, which they then intend to adapt into a scripted series.
“Sign Language” also hails from investigative filmmaking company The Cinemart, which last year released the Hulu doc “Fyre Fraud...
- 5/15/2020
- by Will Thorne
- Variety Film + TV
Chris Longo Feb 10, 2020
The story of Jacqueline Cleggett in Netflix's gripping doc series The Pharmacist is a sad tale of addiction.
For the majority of Netflix’s limited documentary series, The Pharmacist, Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett is a name shrouded in mystery. There are limited photos of Cleggett, the former physician who established a shady medical practice outside of New Orleans, a practice that became a notorious OxyContin “pill mill.” Much of the footage that accompanies her name is hours of home video filmed outside her office by Dan Schneider, a concerned citizen, moralistic pharmacist, and grieving father.
As the series unfolds, Schneider is inspired to take action after the drug-related shooting death of his son, Danny Jr., and aims to clean up a community devastated by the opioid crisis by taking down Cleggett. Without seeing much of Cleggett through three episodes, the mounting circumstantial evidence builds her up to...
The story of Jacqueline Cleggett in Netflix's gripping doc series The Pharmacist is a sad tale of addiction.
For the majority of Netflix’s limited documentary series, The Pharmacist, Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett is a name shrouded in mystery. There are limited photos of Cleggett, the former physician who established a shady medical practice outside of New Orleans, a practice that became a notorious OxyContin “pill mill.” Much of the footage that accompanies her name is hours of home video filmed outside her office by Dan Schneider, a concerned citizen, moralistic pharmacist, and grieving father.
As the series unfolds, Schneider is inspired to take action after the drug-related shooting death of his son, Danny Jr., and aims to clean up a community devastated by the opioid crisis by taking down Cleggett. Without seeing much of Cleggett through three episodes, the mounting circumstantial evidence builds her up to...
- 2/10/2020
- Den of Geek
Chris Longo Feb 7, 2020
The directors of The Pharmacist reveal how they captured the powerful story of Dan Schneider, an unlikely hero who took action from grief.
It sounds like something out of a pulpy comic book: A grieving father seeks to avenge his son’s murder by circumventing the police to identify the killer. But it was reality for Dan Schneider, a New Orleans-area pharmacist who channeled his grief over the drug-related shooting death of his son, Danny Jr., into a tireless Diy investigation. In The Pharmacist, Netflix’s latest documentary series and one of its most gripping to date, Schneider finds that justice for his son is only the beginning. Soon the well-meaning pharmacist embarks on a crusade to combat the unfolding opioid crisis that’s ravaging his region, and soon the entire country.
On first look, Schneider would appear to be an ideal subject for a documentary. His infectious personality,...
The directors of The Pharmacist reveal how they captured the powerful story of Dan Schneider, an unlikely hero who took action from grief.
It sounds like something out of a pulpy comic book: A grieving father seeks to avenge his son’s murder by circumventing the police to identify the killer. But it was reality for Dan Schneider, a New Orleans-area pharmacist who channeled his grief over the drug-related shooting death of his son, Danny Jr., into a tireless Diy investigation. In The Pharmacist, Netflix’s latest documentary series and one of its most gripping to date, Schneider finds that justice for his son is only the beginning. Soon the well-meaning pharmacist embarks on a crusade to combat the unfolding opioid crisis that’s ravaging his region, and soon the entire country.
On first look, Schneider would appear to be an ideal subject for a documentary. His infectious personality,...
- 2/7/2020
- Den of Geek
Ava DuVernay (“When They See Us”), David Mandel (“Veep”) and Bruce Miller and Kira Snyder (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) were among those honored at the Television Academy’s Emmy nominees writers reception on Tuesday night in North Hollywood.
There, ceremony hosts, “Escape at Dannemora” star Eric Lange and “Veep’s” Sam Richardson, kept the show moving by tossing in jokes between introductions as the writers from each Emmy-nominated show posed for photographs on stage. The two stars seemed especially excited to introduce the masterminds behind their own shows. Lange’s “Escape at Dannemora” writers Brett Johnson and Jerry Stahl accepted praise for their two nominations, while Richardson claimed it was a “privilege and honor” to introduce “Veep” showrunner Mandel to the crowd.
DuVernay briefly posed for photos as she accepted the honor for writing episode four of “When They See Us.” The series itself earned 16 Emmy nominations in total, the...
There, ceremony hosts, “Escape at Dannemora” star Eric Lange and “Veep’s” Sam Richardson, kept the show moving by tossing in jokes between introductions as the writers from each Emmy-nominated show posed for photographs on stage. The two stars seemed especially excited to introduce the masterminds behind their own shows. Lange’s “Escape at Dannemora” writers Brett Johnson and Jerry Stahl accepted praise for their two nominations, while Richardson claimed it was a “privilege and honor” to introduce “Veep” showrunner Mandel to the crowd.
DuVernay briefly posed for photos as she accepted the honor for writing episode four of “When They See Us.” The series itself earned 16 Emmy nominations in total, the...
- 9/12/2019
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
The amount of time that passes between a traumatic or otherwise subjective event and the way that event is recounted often greatly determines the response to and reception of those involved. In some cases, it may mean seeing someone who was once put on a pedestal as a much more complex and even criminal individual, while in others it allows for greater empathy toward someone previously thought of as a villain. And in some very special cases, revisiting a situation also allows for real social and systemic change.
“This series coming out in a post #MeToo [era] obviously adds an extra layer to it,” says “Lorena” executive producer and director Joshua Rofé. “There’s another lens through which it is viewed — I would say an even clearer lens than perhaps it would have been viewed a few years ago.”
Hindsight was vital to Rofé’s four-part series, which focuses on Lorena Bobbitt,...
“This series coming out in a post #MeToo [era] obviously adds an extra layer to it,” says “Lorena” executive producer and director Joshua Rofé. “There’s another lens through which it is viewed — I would say an even clearer lens than perhaps it would have been viewed a few years ago.”
Hindsight was vital to Rofé’s four-part series, which focuses on Lorena Bobbitt,...
- 6/13/2019
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
As Emmy season kicks into high gear, the Television Academy took a moment on Thursday to celebrate a handful of programs that have tackled critical social issues.
Hosted by “Claws” star Niecy Nash and held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the event honored the dramas “A Million Little Things” (ABC) and “Pose” (FX); the children’s show “Alexa & Katie” (Netflix); the documentary specials “I Am Evidence” (HBO) and “Rbg” (CNN); and documentary series “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story” (Paramount Network) and “My Last Days” (The CW).
“Get your Kleenex ready,” Nash quipped at the start of the hour-long ceremony. “These seven honorees carry with them the gravity of each story and power of each singular voice to speak his or her own truth.”
Indeed, the night started off on an emotional note when Sybrina Fulton, the mother of unarmed slain teenager Trayvon Martin, took the stage to...
Hosted by “Claws” star Niecy Nash and held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the event honored the dramas “A Million Little Things” (ABC) and “Pose” (FX); the children’s show “Alexa & Katie” (Netflix); the documentary specials “I Am Evidence” (HBO) and “Rbg” (CNN); and documentary series “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story” (Paramount Network) and “My Last Days” (The CW).
“Get your Kleenex ready,” Nash quipped at the start of the hour-long ceremony. “These seven honorees carry with them the gravity of each story and power of each singular voice to speak his or her own truth.”
Indeed, the night started off on an emotional note when Sybrina Fulton, the mother of unarmed slain teenager Trayvon Martin, took the stage to...
- 5/31/2019
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
In serving as executive producer of “Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story,” Chachi Senior found himself revisiting many of the unbelievable moments that surrounded that case. None was worse than reviewing the trial of Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman. “What I learned most about the trial after watching this film as opposed to when it was actually happening, was just how wrong the prosecution had gotten this. They blew this case,” he tells us in our recent webchat with him (watch the exclusive video above). He’s quick to credit the movie’s directing team of Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason for the way they didn’t heighten their presentation of this in the documentary and just presented the facts of how the prosecution failed. Senior adds, “They were just idiots.”
SEEEmmys 2019 exclusive: Category submissions for Comedy Central, Paramount Network, TV Land
“Rest in Power” was a six-part...
SEEEmmys 2019 exclusive: Category submissions for Comedy Central, Paramount Network, TV Land
“Rest in Power” was a six-part...
- 5/24/2019
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
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