CBS is leaping into the increasingly crowded true crime anthology market, ordering a Making a Murderer-style series of their own. The network is currently in "final negotiations" with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition producer Tom Forman for a limited-run exploration of the JonBenét Ramsey murder case, Deadlinereports.
With the 20th anniversary of Ramsey's death coming up in December, CBS is reportedly planning to wrap up production on the series in time to debut this fall. Both original investigators and fresh experts are expected to participate in the series. Though no definitive plans for future seasons have been announced, Deadline's sources say the series "has the potential" to grow into a regular program for the network, with each season tackling a different case.
Ramsey's 1996 case remains a heated source of discussion, even decades after the 6-year-old's tragic death. Though multiple grand jury hearings and plenty of public speculation have taken place, the Colorado case remains unsolved. The child's body was discovered in the family's basement hours after she was reported missing, with Us Weeklynoting that DNA tests in 2008 ultimately clearing the child’s parents.
CBS' announcement of an untitled JonBenét Ramsey series comes just two days after NBC announced Law & Order: True Crime, a scripted take on the infamous Menendez brothers. With the blockbuster success of rival networks' smashes including The Jinx, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, and the aforementioned Making a Murderer, CBS seems to be taking note of the massive viewership and acting accordingly.
