CNN Greenlights Five New Original Series for 2018; HLN Adds New Original Series for 2018
CNN Also Picks Up New Seasons of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, This is Life with Lisa Ling, The History of Comedy, Believer with Reza Aslan, The Wonder List with Bill Weir, and The Hunt with John Walsh
NEW YORK – May 17, 2017 — CNN, a division of Turner, will be adding five new Original Series to its slate in 2018, it was announced today at the Turner Upfront presentation in New York City. Detroit 1963: Once in a Great City; American Heiress: The Patty Hearst Story; 1968: The Year That Changed America; Kennedys: An American Dynasty and Pope will join the network’s diverse portfolio of award-winning, critically-acclaimed nonfiction programming.
In addition, HLN will add a new Original Series — Unmasking A Killer — to its slate in 2018. This series will join the growing lineup of unscripted original programming the network has been developing in the past year.
The new CNN Original Series for 2018 include:
- Detroit 1963: Once in a Great City (working title), executive produced by Emmy Award winners Anthony Bourdain and Lydia Tenaglia, is a four-part series about the city of Detroit at its high point when their auto industry was the envy of the world and Motown ruled the airwaves. The docuseries, produced by Zero Point Zero, will take viewers back to a time in America when people believed in the power and goodness of big corporations, had high hopes for racial parity, and looked to institutions like unions and the government to solve their problems.
- American Heiress: The Patty Hearst Story, from executive producer Jeffrey Toobin and Bat Bridge Entertainment, is a six-part series that will follow the transformation of Patricia Hearst from heiress to terrorist in a saga of privilege, celebrity, politics, media, and violence. More than forty years since the kidnapping, new evidence sheds light on the facts surrounding one of the most bizarre stories in modern American history. The docuseries based on Toobin’s book, “American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst,” follows his Emmy® and Golden Globe Award wins for “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” a miniseries adapted from his New York Times bestseller, “The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson.”
- 1968: The Year That Changed America (working title), from Emmy Award-winning executive producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (Playtone) and Mark Herzog (Herzog & Company), is a four-part series that looks back at 1968, a year marked by seismic shifts in American politics, social movements, global relations and cultural icons who forever changed the modern day landscape. The docuseries maps the tumultuous events of the year from the assassinations of MLK and RFK, to the contentious presidential election, to escalating anti-Vietnam War sentiment and beyond.
- Kennedys: An American Dynasty (working title), from Raw TV (Race for the White House), is a six-part series that takes viewers to the heart of America’s ‘First Family,’ revealing how personal relationships within the dynasty helped shaped national and global events from the Cold War to the Wall Street crash. The docuseries spans the life of patriarch Joseph “Joe” Kennedy and his children uncovering how this one family so significantly shaped twentieth century America. Louise Norman and Eamon Hardy serve as executive producers.
- Pope (working title), from Nancy Glass Productions and Rearrange TV, is a six-part series that goes inside the Vatican to reveal the true power held by popes throughout the ages. The docuseries will explore how 12 apostles became 1.2 billion Catholics today, linking recent news events surrounding the Vatican with their unexpected origins. Nancy Glass and Randy Cousman serve as executive producers.
CNN’s 2017/2018 programming slate will also feature new seasons of returning Original Series including the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown (Zero Point Zero); Emmy-nominated United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell (Main Event Media/All3Media America); This is Life With Lisa Ling (part2); The History of Comedy (Hazy Mills/Herzog & Company); Believer with Reza Aslan (Whalerock Industries); The Wonder List with Bill Weir (CNN) and The Hunt with John Walsh (Zero Point Zero).
The new HLN Original Series for 2018 is:
- Unmasking A Killer, a new five-part series 10 years in the making, takes viewers inside the investigation, the case files and the mind of The Golden State Killer – a man believed to be the most prolific uncaught rapist and serial killer in the nation. With exclusive cooperation from law enforcement and survivors, the docuseries will examine the historical and social ramifications of The Golden State Killer’s reign of terror, explore the advances in forensic technology, and highlight the legal changes to our justice system that his crime spree spurred. Unmasking A Killeris executive produced by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina of Joke Productions with supervising producer Todd Lindsey and will debut in the first quarter of 2018.
About CNN Original Series
The CNN Original Series group develops non-scripted programming for television via commissioned projects, acquisitions and in-house production. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development, oversees CNN Original Series and CNN Films for CNN Worldwide. Lizzie Fox, vice president of current programming, supervises production of all CNN Original Series.
About HLN Original Series
Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development, CNN Worldwide, oversees CNN Original Series and HLN Original Series. Nancy Duffy, vice president of program development for CNN, supervises production of internally-produced HLN Original Series, and Lizzie Fox, vice president of current programming, CNN Original Series, supervises production of commissioned HLN Original Series. Jon Adler is senior director of development for HLN and CNN Original Series.
Press Contacts:
Heather Brown; CNN Original Series; Heather.Brown@turner.com
Natalie Pahz; HLN Original Series, Natalie.Pahz@turner.com