ID in Patterson tie-up

US network Investigation Discovery has agreed a development deal with author James Patterson and ordered a doc about race relations.

Henry Schleiff

Patterson will write a yet-to-be-revealed six-part scripted series for ID, which will be based on a true crime story. The show has been slated to premiere on ID in 2017 and will be exec produced by Bill Robinson and Leopoldo Gout for James Patterson Entertainment, among others.

“As the best-selling author, around the world, since 2001, there is no bigger name than James Patterson,” said Henry Schleiff, group president for ID, American Heroes Channel and Destination America.

“Patterson is the ultimate storyteller, and for a television network known for its own powerful storytelling, to now have him as our ‘partner in crime’ is truly a match made in heaven for his readers and ID’s viewers.”

ID has also revealed Black and Blue, an hour-long doc from NBC News’s Peacock Productions. It features investigative journalist Tony Harris as he tours the US exploring the impact of police shootings on African American families.

The one-off special, which will also examine the lives of US police officers, has been slated to premiere this fall.

Elsewhere, ID has greenlit Jon Benét: An American Murder Mystery (working title) from Weinstein Television, American Media and Jupiter Entertainment.

The three-parter explores the case of a six-year-old beauty queen killed in 1996 and delves into who was responsible for the murder.

ID has also revealed it will debut its doc Southwest of Salem on October 15. The show tells the story of four lesbians who were wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in 1994.