"O.J. Is Innocent" Docuseries (Official Thread)

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Sheen, who helped shop the project, will also serve as the narrator on the docuseries that will premiere early next year.


Television's fascination with the O.J. Simpson trial is adding a third series.

Martin Sheen will executive produce Hard Evidence: O.J. Is Innocent, a new true-crime docuseries that will attempt to show that Simpson is innocent.

In a competitive move, Investigation Discovery — the cable network known for its crime, mystery and documentary programs — has picked up the six-part entry that will reinvestigate the Simpson case from beginning to end.

The show will reveal critical new evidence in the slayings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, as well as unveil an entirely new hypothesis for what happened in Brentwood 20 years ago. While Simpson was acquitted in the so-called "Trial of the Century," he was found liable in a civil suit two years later, and questions about his role in the slayings remain widespread.

In addition to exec producing, Sheen will narrate the series. (An existing contract with Netflix for scripted comedy Grace and Frankie prohibits him from appearing onscreen elsewhere.) Hard Evidence will largely be based on more than two decades of dogged legwork by Texas private investigator William C. Dear, whose book, O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It, presents “never-before seen evidence” and a compelling alternative theory in a case most people have long thought resolved.

Investigation Discovery landed the project following a multiple-network bidding war that counted players including Amazon over the past two months. “All of the major players were looking,” says ID Group president Henry Schleiff, who noted other bidders included premium cable. Objective Media Group America/All3Media America will produce, with Jimmy Fox, Greg Lipstone and Layla Smith set to exec produce alongside Sheen and Dear.

Martin Sheen is represented by ICM Partners. Objective/All3Media is represented by ICM Partners and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush & Kaller, L.L.P. Bill Dear is represented by ICM Partners, Sally C. Helppie, Esq. and Vincent Serafino Geary Waddell Jenevein, P.C.

Schleiff, who used to work at Court TV (sometimes mockingly referred to as the “O.J. Network” during the trial) knew Simpson and yet, like most people, believed the former NFL Hall of Famer was guilty, despite an acquittal in his criminal trial. But when Dear presented Schleiff with examples of evidence he had uncovered during his 20-year “obsession” with the case — including a knife the investigator believes is the actual murder weapon, medical and forensic reports and a trove of other physical material the investigator claims LAPD never examined — Schleiff says he was forced to reassess.

“Like most others I had always believed that the evidence showed that [O.J.] did it,” Schleiff says, “I went into this with a tremendous amount of doubt and cynicism, but this is so amazingly convincing that when you do connect the dots and look at the new evidence, it made me accept the fact that O.J. could actually be innocent.”

Sheen noted he hoped the series will help answer three central questions: “What if there were enough evidence that proved O.J. Simpson did not murder his ex-wife Nicole or Ron Goldman? What if the real killer were still at large? And finally, what if a grand jury convened to reconsider the case based on new evidence?”

After 20 years of relative quiet, interest in the Simpson case has reached new peaks of late with FX critical darling The People v. O.J. Simpson: The American Crime Story. This summer, ESPN will air its five-part docuseries O.J.: Made in America.

And interest in the case continues beyond the small screen, when excitement reached a fever pitch this month when the LAPD announced that a knife had been discovered on Simpson’s now-demolished property and that it was never disclosed to police. It has since prompted renewed speculation about the murder weapon. The knife was soon found to be unrelated to the slayings of Simpson and Goldman. Inside Edition, meanwhile, recently tracked down the whereabouts of the iconic white Bronco, which O.J. rode into infamy in perhaps the most famous car chase of the 20th century. Former O.J. associate Michael Gilbert is storing it in his garage in central California.

Dear and Sheen have been working together for more than a year, honing their pitch, and the pair recently began shopping the idea around Hollywood as The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported last month. Interest was immediate and intense, people familiar with the deal say. The two met through the actor’s son, Charlie Sheen, who invited Dear out to Los Angeles several years ago to speak to a private audience about his work on the Simpson case.

For his part, Dear has high hopes for what the series will deliver. “I’m hoping that when we do this series, the evidence should be more than enough to get a grand jury indictment,” he tells THR. “If I accomplish that, I will have accomplished a great deal in my life. I’ve done the best I can and I’m excited about the fact that finally I can get it out there.”

While there’s no production schedule yet, ID plans to air the series in the first quarter of 2017. Network execs declined comment on the sale price, but Schleiff acknowledged that they weren’t going to skimp on producing Hard Evidence.

“To do it correctly, to go on location, to interview all the people in what is essentially a brand-new story means it’s expensive,” he says. “The viewer may agree or disagree with the evidence, or the point of this series, but it raises very legitimate questions, and that’s what we’re in the business of doing.”


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'O.J. Is Innocent' Docuseries Produced by Martin Sheen Lands at ID (Exclusive)
 
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No sexy pictures of Nicole Brown Simpson?
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As Ryan Murphy’s “American Crime Story: The People v O.J. Simpson” series and Ezra Edelman’s epic documentary “O.J.: Made in America” both continue to collect trophies on the fall awards circuit, veteran actor Martin Sheen is set to premiere his own true-crime series on the trial of O.J. Simpson, which he previously said would unfold in a similar manner as Netflix’s hit docu-series “Making a Murderer,” focusing on alleged evidence that he claims exonerates Simpson in the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

Sheen’s series has now officially found a home as Investigation Discovery has picked up what will be a 6-part docu-series about the O.J. Simpson trial, which will be titled “Is O.J. Innocent? The Missing Evidence.”

Sheen teamed up with Dallas-based investigator William Dear, who says he has spent 21 years collecting what he calls “hard evidence” that he believes exonerates Simpson of the double murders.

“People are fascinated with true crime. I know the time is right for people to look at this O.J. thing,” Dear said in a statement earlier this year, adding that the project, like Netflix’s “Making a Murderer,” will “raise doubts” about Simpson’s perceived guilt (although, unlike Steven Avery in “Making a Murderer,” Simpson was acquitted of the murders in 1995, avoiding prison time, and would later be found liable in a civil suit in which he was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families).

And about the series, he shared the following: “It’s not going to be talking heads. These are going to be facts, not hearsay, not soft evidence but hard evidence… We have diaries. We have pictures of [another suspect that they believe was overlooked] wearing a cap that was found at the crime scene. We have the vehicle the suspect was driving. We have a witness. We feel very confident in what we’ve been able to put together.”

William Dear is also the author of the 2012 book “OJ is Innocent and I Can Prove It.”

“Is O.J. Innocent? The Missing Evidence” follows LAPD forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie and Rhode Island police sergeant Derrick Levasseur as they join forces with Dear, to scrutinize the O.J. Simpson case from beginning to end, revealing new information and investigating new theories in the murders of Simpson and Goldman.

The team re-examines several integral pieces of content from the original investigation, including canvassing the infamous Bronco and recreating the blood spatter from the murder scene. The 6-part series features interviews with Dr. Henry Lee, a forensic scientist who reviewed evidence at the crime scene, as well as other key players who have devoted their lives to seeing that justice be served, including Kato Kaelin, a key witness in the trial. The series also features a never-before-seen interview with a potential eyewitness to the crime. And after taking viewers through the new theories, the team sits down for an intimate conversation with the victims’ families, including exclusive interviews with Fred Goldman and Tanya Brown, to hear their take on where things stand today.

“The prosecution of O.J. Simpson is interwoven into the fundamental cultural fabric that defines the 20th century, representing a watershed moment in our nation’s system of justice. Therefore, it may be hard for many of us to accept new theories that challenge common beliefs and perceptions held in this country,” said Henry Schleiff, Group President, Investigation Discovery, American Heroes Channel and Destination America. “Indeed, it is imperative to remember, however, that no one has ever been convicted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a court of criminal law – and, accordingly, with unprecedented access and evidence never before investigated, we offer, today, a new take on the case everyone thought they knew.”

Investigation Discovery has set the world premiere three night event for “Is O.J. Innocent? The Missing Evidence,” for Sunday, January 15 with back-to-back premieres starting at 9/8c.

Full episode descriptions include:

— NEW EVIDENCE: Premieres Sunday, January 15 at 9/8c

The team of investigators re-examines the iconic O.J. Simpson trial to explore the highly debated jury verdict finding O.J. not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The team inspects a knife that could be the murder weapon, and sits down with family members Fred Goldman and Tanya Brown to get their personal insights into what they believe happened that fateful day.

— FOLLOW THE BLOOD: Premieres Sunday, January 15 at 10/9c

After examining evidence both old and new, the team questions O.J.’s role in the crimes. Was he involved in these murders… or was another person was responsible? Dr. Henry Lee, a forensics expert from the original investigation, discusses the confounding details and problems with the preliminary evidence collection from the crime scene, and what impact that may have had on the trial.

— PERSON OF INTEREST: Premieres Monday, January 16 at 9/8c

Dallas-based private investigator Bill Dear has collected evidence for the past 21 years suggesting a new possibility in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. The team sits down with Dear to take a closer look at this ‘person of interest’ and his checkered past.

— ABOUT THE ALIBI: Premieres Monday, January 16 at 10/9c

LAPD forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie, and Rhode Island police sergeant Derrick Levasseur raise questions about the validity of the potential person of interest’s alibi from the night of the murders – was the truth being told? And if not, did this individual play a role in committing the crimes? The team examines bizarre behavior after the murders, and looks closely into his present-day life to gain a greater understanding.

— THE CHARLIE THEORY: Premieres Tuesday, January 17 at 9/8c

O.J. Simpson has claimed that “if” he committed the murders, he couldn’t have done it alone. The team asks famed witness Kato Kaelin and other key participants in the original trial for their opinions about whether anyone else could have been involved. Then, a new potential eyewitness comes forward to the team with a shocking revelation that could blow the investigation wide open.

— WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: Premieres Tuesday, January 17 at 10/9c

After coming forth with new information about the night of the murder, a possible eyewitness takes a polygraph test, and the DNA results from a potential murder weapon are in. The team of investigators sits down with Fred Goldman, Ron’s father, and Tanya Brown, Nicole’s sister, and gets a shocking update. Dr. Kris Mohandie and Sergeant Derrick Levasseur reveal their final conclusions about what they believe really happened to Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.

“Is O.J. Innocent? The Missing Evidence” docu-series and after show is produced for Investigation Discovery and IDGO by Objective Media Group America/All3Media America with Jimmy Fox, Greg Lipstone, Layla Smith and Star Price as executive producers. William C. Dear is also executive producer. For Investigation Discovery, Lorna Thomas is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Kevin Bennett is general manager, and Henry Schleiff is Group President, Investigation Discovery, American Heroes Channel and Destination America.

Watch a 4-minute preview of the series below:
 
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