#SmallScreenScenes LAURENCE FISHBURNE TO HOST AND NARRATE NEW HISTORY FRANCHISE “HISTORY’S GREATEST MYSTERIES” LAUNCHING SUMMER 2020
HISTORY® ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAMMING FRANCHISE
‘HISTORY’S GREATEST MYSTERIES’ TO BE HOSTED AND NARRATED BY ACADEMY AWARD®
NOMINEE AND EMMY AWARD® WINNER LAURENCE FISHBURNE LAUNCHING SUMMER 2020
INITIAL PROJECTS UNDER THE NEW NON-FICTION BANNER WILL FOCUS ON
ICONIC MYSTERIES THAT CAPTIVATED MILLIONS AND CULTURALLY IMPACTED THE WORLD
HISTORY announces a new non-fiction programming strand “History’s Greatest Mysteries,” hosted and narrated by Academy Award® nominee and Emmy Award® winner Laurence Fishburne (“Black-ish,” John Wick, The Matrix, Apocalypse Now and Boyz N The Hood) that will investigate a wide range of historically compelling topics and the mysteries surrounding each including the Titanic, D.B. Cooper, Roswell, John Wilkes Booth, and more. Slated to launch this summer 2020, each program within the franchise will showcase fresh, new evidence and perspectives including never-before-released documents to the general public, personal diaries and DNA evidence to unearth brand-new information about these infamous and enigmatic chapters in history.
“I am excited to partner with the team at HISTORY again,” said Fishburne. “The details behind these epic historical events continue to be universally debated to this day and ‘History’s Greatest Mysteries’ will provide new clarity to these larger-than-life mysteries.”
“Our audience has an interest in the full story behind iconic historical moments,” said Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President and General Manager for HISTORY. “This new banner will change the way we look at history as we know it, while sparking new, compelling conversations.”
Incredible discoveries uncovered within “History’s Greatest Mysteries” includes a 100+ year old box filled with the investigative findings of, Lord Mersey, the man charged with leading the official inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic and a personal diary from Major Jesse Marcel, the first person to investigate the wreckage in Roswell, NM believed to contain coded clues to what really happened that night in 1947. In addition, for the first time, the family of John Wilkes Booth is releasing 60 boxes of sealed family documents and allowing a DNA test to be facilitated which may hold the answers to whether he truly died in a fire following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln or if he faked his death as many believe.
Initial projects under the “History’s Greatest Mysteries” banner include:
“Titanic's Lost Evidence” (working title) – 1x120min
For 107 years, a dust-covered box has remained hidden in a British manor house, and may contain evidence that will rewrite the most famous maritime disaster in history. This box contains the personal notes of Lord Mersey, the respected British jurist and politician charged with investigating the sinking of Titanic in 1912. History has secured permission to open it – a first in history. The box contains information about Titanic’s voyage including new context on fatal mistakes allegedly made by the captain and crew, and perhaps signs of a cover-up.
“Titanic’s Lost Evidence” (working title) is produced for HISTORY by Texas Crew Productions and TH Entertainment. David Karabinas, Mark Anstendig and Brad Bernstein serve as executive producers for Texas Crew Productions and Gregory Hall and Peter Leeds serve as executive producers for TH Entertainment. Mike Stiller serves as executive producer for HISTORY.
“The Escape of John Wilkes Booth” (working title) – 1x120min
Two weeks after the assassination of President Lincoln, history records that Booth suffered a fatal gunshot wound while resisting arrest. Today, the Booth family believes this to be untrue. The family believes he faked his death, reunited with his wife, going on to marry again under an assumed name, eventually revealing his true identity in a series of clues. Investigators now have access to 60 boxes of Booth family materials at Harvard University, marriage certificates, the will of John Wilkes Booth and other rare documents that could speak to the mystery, and for the first time, use DNA to prove or disprove that Booth escaped his death.
“The Escape of John Wilkes Booth” (working title) is produced for HISTORY by Big City TV and The Content Group. Lori Rothschild Ansaldi serves as executive producer for Big City TV and Steve Michaels serves as executive producer for The Content Group. Mike Stiller serves as executive producer for HISTORY.
“Roswell: The First Witness” (working title) – 6x60min
HISTORY will investigate new evidence, using new advanced technologies, behind the mysterious 1947 Roswell, NM crash. The series follows the grandchildren of Major Jesse Marcel, the first person to investigate the wreckage. The investigation is being led by Ben Smith, a former CIA operative. The family believes Major Marcel was forced by the U.S. government to deny he ever saw a UFO. They possess Major Marcel's diary, believed to contain coded clues about the truth of what happened at Roswell and clues and new evidence to where the alien wreckage might still lie buried. We will also attempt to decode the diary for the first time.
“Roswell: The First Witness” (working title) is produced for HISTORY by Bungalow Entertainment and Blumhouse Television. Robert Friedman serves as executive producer for Bungalow Entertainment. Mike Stiller serves as executive producer for HISTORY.
“The Final Hunt For DB Cooper” (working title) – 1x120min
With over 7,500 hours investigating the D.B. Cooper mystery including analyzing evidence, interviewing witnesses, reading 20,000+ pages of FBI case files and exploring important locations, top D.B. Cooper expert, Eric Ulis, believes that he's found the true location where Cooper landed during his daring dive. Ulis has also assembled a team of specialists to explore the untouched Washington backcountry, federally restricted (wildlife refuge) land, to hunt for the missing evidence Cooper left behind. Armed with new information, the team will travel to parts of Washington state that have never been searched attempting to solve the only unsolved skyjacking in United States history.
“The Final Hunt for DB Cooper” (working title) is produced for HISTORY by Lost Arts Pictures in association with 3BMG. Grant Cross, Ross Weintraub, Myles Reiff and Eric Ulis serve as executive producers. Max Micallef serves as executive producer for HISTORY.
“Bermuda Triangle: Expedition to the Abyss” (working title) – 1x120min
On December 5, 1945, five American WW2 torpedo bombers took off from Florida with all men and planes disappearing without a trace. Hours later, the search plane dispatched to find them, also vanished, believed to be lost to the infamous Bermuda Triangle. The number of men tragically lost that day totaled 27 and 75 years later, it remains an unsolved mystery. No ship in history has searched the extreme depths of the Bermuda Triangle, thought to have claimed over 1,000 ships and planes, until now. The late Paul Allen's ship, R/V Petrel, the most advanced search vessel of its kind, will deploy a wide array of cutting edge technology including deep-diving submersibles to investigate three miles down, in an effort, to find the lost squadron and solve the mystery that began the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.
“Bermuda Triangle: Expedition to the Abyss” (working title) is produced for HISTORY by Lone Wolf Media. Kirk and Lisa Wolfinger serve as executive producers for Lone Wolf Media. Mike Stiller serves as executive producer for HISTORY.
“Endurance: The Hunt For Shackleton’s Ice Ship” (working title) – 1x120min
In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to Antarctica but soon after arrival, Shackleton’s ship - The Endurance - was destroyed by shifting glaciers, and he was tasked with leading his 27 men across the frozen tundra, on an epic struggle for survival. Shackleton’s battle against the odds and his unfailing commitment to bring all his men out alive turned him into the legend that still inspires today. Now, HISTORY follows a new ground-breaking expedition heading back into the frozen seas to hunt down the last piece of the story: Shackleton’s lost ship. The Endurance is as illustrious as the Titanic, yet it’s remained lost for over a hundred years. Its final resting ground is one of the greatest polar mysteries and a team of explorers and experts set out with the goal of being the first to break through the ice and uncover the wreck site.
“Endurance: The Hunt For Shackleton’s Ice Ship” (working title) is produced for HISTORY by Atlantic Productions. Siobhan Mulholland serves as executive producer and Anthony Geffen serves as producer for Atlantic Productions. Oli Twinch serves as director. Zachary Behr serves as executive producer for HISTORY.
“Hunting Hitler’s U-Boats” (working title) – 1x120
After Hitler’s death, a rumor began to spread that a secret fleet of German U-Boats were modified to make the long trans-Atlantic journey to South America with a mission to continue his dream of a global Fourth Reich and hidden within those boats was the illicit Nazi treasure to fund it. Newly uncovered documents could prove the existence of these legendary ships. Now professional wreck diver, Mike Fletcher, and his team, armed with never-before-seen materials, attempt to solve one of the greatest WW2 mysteries and locate a sunken treasure that could change history as we know it.
“Hunting Hitler’s U-Boats” (working title) is produced by Entertainment One (eOne) and Fired Up Films for HISTORY. Executive producers are Tara Long, Geno McDermott and Mark Herwick for eOne; and Jon Barrie Waddell for Fired Up Films. Max Micallef serves as executive producer for HISTORY.
A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for all the above programs.
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HISTORY, a division of A+E Networks, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, HISTORY serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. HISTORY has been named the #1 U.S. TV network in buzz for seven consecutive years by YouGov BrandIndex, and a top favorite TV network by Beta Research Corporation. For a deeper dive, visit history.com or follow @history on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
