Channel 4 is launching a new platform dedicated to true crime programming as it attempts to respond to the boom in popularity of the genre, which it says is being driven by younger audiences. True Crime on 4 will launch in the autumn with shows including Surviving Jeffrey Epstein sitting alongside commissions such as Murder in the Alps, a three-part series about the murders of the Al-Hilli family and Sylvain Mollier in 2012. Victim’s families and survivors have criticised some true crime shows for digging up past trauma, with critics saying victims are treated as fodder and “fuel for people’s fascination”. He put the recent interest in true crime down to film-makers using drama tropes in their documentaries, and a general lift in the quality of shows coming from the genre. True Crime on 4 will also feature acquisitions from Vice, including the second series of The Devil You Know about the cult leader Sherry J Shriner, and wrestling documentary Dark Side of the Ring.

Source: The Guardian July 13, 2021 04:52 UTC