Warner Bros Discovery’s Quest Red opens Plimsoll’s Victorian Murder Files

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) in the UK and Ireland has commissioned a true crime series from Plimsoll Productions about Victorian murders for its free-to-air channel Quest Red.

Clare Laycock

Victorian Murder Files (6×60′) will examine some of the era’s most gruesome and headline-grabbing cases, all told with a contemporary twist.

The series will combine present day insights from experts including detectives, psychologists and pathologists with scripted performances from actors playing the perpetrators and witnesses, all filmed in a modern-day setting.

By giving historical stories a modern touch, each episode will uncover striking similarities between murders that occurred over 150 years ago and those unfolding in today’s news headlines and social media feeds.

Clare Laycock, senior VP and head of content, networks and streaming at WBD in the UK and Ireland, said: “This unique approach will take Quest Red viewers on a journey through high-profile and unique historical crimes but with a contemporary twist and new light.”

The series, set to air early next year, was ordered by Laycock and commissioned by Charlotte Reid. Steven Fullagar is exec producer.

Meanwhile, WBD, Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to create and distribute original Taiwanese content locally and internationally.

The three companies will develop, produce and distribute local IP and content for both local and global audiences. WBD has produced several Taiwanese shows in the past five years, including HBO scripted originals The Teenage Psychic, Dream Raider and Trinity of Shadows, as well as unscripted shows such as Beating Covid 19, Master Class and Taiwan Revealed.