Lifetime has greenlit a four-hour documentary series, titled Surviving Jeffrey Epstein.
Variety writes that the announcement was shared at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Saturday. The docuseries was initially declared to be in development last summer and is expected to air on Lifetime this summer.
Epstein was arrested in 2019 and accused of sexually assaulting and trafficking multiple underage girls. A lot of eyes were on the case due to the fact that he mingled with a number of powerful people in Washington D.C. and beyond.
He had been charged with such crimes before, receiving a soft plea deal in 2008 from former U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who resigned as the U.S. Labor Secretary when the specifics behind the deal surfaced during Epstein’s new arrest.
In August, Epstein died in his cell in a New York detention center in an alleged suicide, though many have theorized that he was murdered.
Lifetime had success with a similar docuseries, last year’s Surviving R. Kelly, which focused on the allegations of sexual abuse and assault lodged against the singer. Kelly was later indicted on multiple federal charges, such as child pornography and kidnapping.
Surviving Jeffrey Epstein will come from Emmy-winner Robert Friedman’s Bungalow Media + Entertainment and will be directed by Anne Sundberg and Ricki Stern. Christopher Mason—a contributor to The New York Times, New York Magazine, Town & Country and Architectural Digest—is also attached to the project. Shura Davidson and Gena McCarthy will executive produce.
