Warner Bros Discovery stocks up on new UK true crime, returns Deadliest Mums & Dads

Warner Bros Discovery UK has commissioned three original true crime series including a six-parter examining audacious stories of brazen and ruthless serial swindlers.

Clare Laycock

The Swindlers (w/t) is a 6×60’ docuseries produced by UK indie Crackit Productions that looks at swindlers who charmed and manipulated their way into the lives and wallets of their victims.

The series features high-profile cases including the story of Medi Abalimba, a failed former pro footballer who couldn’t give up on his high-rolling lifestyle and began conning the women he dated. It will air on Quest Red early next year.

Another Crackit production for Quest Red, Deadliest Mums & Dads, has been renewed for season two.

Dead Fake (w/t), meanwhile, is a 5×60’ exploration of fraudsters faking their own death and where true crime meets intrepid caper. Produced by Man Alive Entertainment and launching on streaming service Discovery+ early next year, it will explore the real consequences of this extreme exit strategy and the outrageous characters who attempt it.

Michael Sams: Kidnapper Killer is a Candour-produced 1×60’ documentary featuring never-before-heard audio tape of the murderer, once labelled ‘The Other Yorkshire Ripper,’ secretly recorded whilst he was in a high-security prison.

Sams was a vicious killer who murdered 18-year-old Julie Dart and then kidnapped estate agent Stephanie Slater. The two-hour tape recording, with one of the oldest and longest-serving prisoners in Britain, reveals unheard details recounted by the murderer himself. The series will drop on Discovery+ in the UK on July 30.

Clare Laycock, senior VP of planning and insights, head of entertainment, Warner Bros Discovery UK, said, “Tapping into the appetite for true crime, we are delighted to expand our portfolio with three new titles – The Swindlers (w/t), Dead Fake (w/t) and Michael Sams: Kidnapper Killer. True crime continues to be one of our most popular genres, both through Discovery+ and via our linear channels – accounting for almost half of our Quest Red ratings – so we are delighted to commission the new series and a returning favourite in Deadliest Mums & Dads series two.”