Sky, Peacock investigate Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein

UK pay channel Sky Documentaries and US streamer Peacock have jointly commissioned an original docuseries about imprisoned socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and her relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein’s Shadow (3×60’) will launch on NBC-owned Peacock on June 24, before airing on Sky Documentaries on June 28, when it will also become available on Sky streaming platform Now. Both Sky and NBC are subsidiaries of US giant Comcast.

Heiress to a publishing fortune, Maxwell’s life was irreversibly changed by her relationship with Epstein. Last summer she was charged with three counts of sex trafficking minors to be abused by the billionaire, who died in prison in August 2019.

The documentary, which will cover events right up to Maxwell’s forthcoming trial, is produced by Canada’s Blue Ant Studios in collaboration with Sky UK and Peacock.

Jennifer Harkness, Emma Cooper, Barbara Shearer, Nina Burleigh, Sam Sniderman and Laura Michalchyshyn serve as executive producers with Michael McKinley as co-executive producer.

The series will be distributed internationally by the UK’s Abacus Media Rights which has already secured pre-sales to broadcasters including Nine Network (Australia), SALTO (France), Bell Media (Canada), Movistar+ (Spain), Channel 8 and DBS (Israel), Nordic Entertainment Group (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Poland and Baltics), MNET (Africa), WATCHA (South Korea), OSN (Middle East), TV+ (Turkey) and RTL Hungary.

Maxwell’s story is proving popular with producers, with a feature-length documentary and a true crime series already in the works.