Forensic Files II
Forensic Files II is a revival continuation of the long-running American documentary-style true crime series Forensic Files, which originally aired from 1996 to 2011 on various networks. Premiering on February 23, 2020, Forensic Files II's first season consisted of 16 episodes and was broadcast on HLN, with voiceover narration by Bill Camp. The original Forensic Files broadcast over 400 episodes during its original run.
| Forensic Files II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Forensic Files season 15 |
| Genre | Documentary True crime |
| Created by | Paul Dowling |
| Starring | Various |
| Narrated by | Bill Camp |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Nancy Duffy |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | HLN Medstar Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | HLN |
| Picture format | 1080p (HDTV) |
| Original release | February 23, 2020 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Forensic Files (1996–2011) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
On May 12, 2020, the series was renewed for a second and third season. The second season will premiere in 2021.[1]
Development and overview
The last episode of the original Forensic Files series ("Expert Witness") originally aired on June 17, 2011. After the 2016 death of Forensic Files narrator Peter Thomas, the show's executive producer Paul Dowling ruled out the possibility of reviving the series, as he considered Thomas to be "irreplaceable".[2] In October 2019, it was announced that the show would be revived with new episodes to air first-run on HLN in early 2020,[3] with Bill Camp later announced as the new narrator.[4]
The revival was clarified as being the first season of a new show, rather than the 15th season of Forensic Files, explained by series producer Nancy Duffy as having been done to "differentiate the new episodes from those that came before". Duffy explained: "When we talked about bringing back Forensic Files, a lot of people thought we just meant that we were gonna be [airing] old shows that we didn't previously air on HLN and there seemed to be a confusion about that, so [we changed the title so] there could be no confusion."[5] Series creator Paul Dowling confirmed on Twitter that Forensic Files II was a new, separate show from the original Forensic Files.[6]
Event reenactments
Unlike in the original Forensic Files program, actors were not hired to participate in reenactments of the cases dramatized in Forensic Files II. Instead, various employees of CNN and HLN were utilized to portray victims, suspects, and other individuals for dramatic recreations of real-life events. Series producer Nancy Duffy explained that the reenactments are filmed in a more "impressionistic" way than in the original series, so that the individuals used in the recreations "don't have to look identical" to the people they are portraying. As a result, faces are not shown in the recreations, only bodies from the neck down. Duffy elaborated that employees would approach her and ask to participate in the reenactments, saying that many were "excited" at the prospect of portraying individuals involved in killing, hiding, kidnapping, or the use of physical restraint.[5][7]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 16 | February 23, 2020 | April 12, 2020 | ||
Season 1 (2020)
The series premiere began with two back-to-back new episodes on February 23, beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. Two new episodes aired back-to-back each Sunday, with the final episode of the first season airing on April 12, Easter Sunday.[8]
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Buried Secrets" | February 23, 2020 | |
|
In 2009, police officers and firefighters in Stow, Ohio report to the scene of a suspicious house fire. All of the home's occupants escaped without harm, but resident Scott Purk alerted police suspicion by bringing up the death of his first wife Margaret, who supposedly committed suicide in 1985. After exhuming Margaret's body, the examination showed that she did not hang herself, but that she was strangled, leaving Scott Purk accused of arson, insurance fraud, and murder. Note: This episode was dedicated in memory of original Forensic Files narrator Peter Thomas, who passed away in 2016. | ||||
| 2 | 2 | "On the Rocks" | February 23, 2020 | |
| In December 1995, 17 year-old Krystal Beslanowitch leaves her motel room for a convenience store and doesn't return. That same day, her naked and bloody body is discovered near the Provo River with her head bashed in with nearby rocks. Blood evidence from the rocks would ultimately lead investigators to Krystal's killer, although it would take nearly 20 years and advances in DNA technologies to identify the murderer. | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Green Pen" | March 1, 2020 | |
| Just five days before a Yale University doctoral researcher was supposed to get married, she suddenly vanished. Video surveillance cameras show Annie Le entering her workplace on the day of her disappearance, but she never left. After her body is discovered in the laboratory basement, investigators find evidence above a ceiling tile, including the perpetrator's bloody clothes. Once suspects are ruled down, DNA evidence points to lab technician Raymond Clark as her killer. | ||||
| 4 | 4 | "Human Sawdust" | March 1, 2020 | |
| In 2005, suitcases containing human remains wash ashore near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia. Police release a composite sketch of the victim, who is later identified as Bill McGuire. Physical evidence from plastic garbage bags, couch fibers, and medical grade towels help to bring the victim's killer - his widow, Melanie McGuire - to justice. | ||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Barn" | March 8, 2020 | |
| In 2005, a popular handyman in Derry, New Hampshire is savagely beaten to death in a barn. Initially, authorities had no clue who could have wanted the victim dead, but several forensic clues found at the crime scene lead investigators to discover a complicated conspiracy with an unlikely mastermind and a motive almost too bizarre and too unbelievable to comprehend. | ||||
| 6 | 6 | "A Killer Disguise" | March 8, 2020 | |
| In 2009, young mother Heather Strube is brazenly gunned down in a Target parking lot in Snellville, Georgia. The killer was wearing an obvious disguise, though it succeeded in hiding the killer's true identity. Witnesses say that the victim was confronted by a man before she was killed, but the discovery of forensic evidence and a powerful motive lead investigators to believe that Heather's killer was actually a woman - her ex-mother-in-law, Joanna Hayes. | ||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Ambush" | March 15, 2020 | |
| In 2008, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina resident Fred Engel disappears while checking his mail outside his upscale condominium. His body is found in nearby woods, and autopsy results reveal he was strangled to death. There are a few initial suspects in the investigation, but none of those leads pan out. However, when investigators turn to mobile device forensics, the evidence leads to Fred's wife Sherry and her secret lover as the prime suspects. | ||||
| 8 | 8 | "Portrait of a Serial Killer" | March 15, 2020 | |
| Daniel Lee Corwin, a Texas serial killer, was responsible for the kidnappings, rapes, and murders of several women in 1987. After abducting Wendy Gant, he stabs her several times and slits her throat, but inadvertently leaves her alive. After communicating in writing to a forensic artist, a composite sketch was developed and identified as Corwin. A fingerprint found in Gant's car helps send Corwin to death row, where he is executed in 1998. | ||||
| 9 | 9 | "Family Tree" | March 22, 2020 | |
| In 1987, a young Canadian couple is brutally slain while on a road trip from British Columbia to Seattle, Washington. After their bodies are found, the victims’ families begin receiving disturbing letters. The case goes unsolved for more than 30 years, until forensic investigators use personal genomics to help solve the case, ultimately making forensic history. | ||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Letter" | March 22, 2020 | |
| In 2015, a health-conscious chiropractor from Whitesboro, New York mysteriously dies. After Mary Yoder's autopsy shows the cause of death as colchicine poisoning, the investigation into her suspicious death becomes a homicide case. Digital forensics are used to tie Internet searches and an anonymous type-written letter to an unlikely suspect - her office administrator who was her son's ex-girlfriend. | ||||
| 11 | 11 | "Last Gasp" | March 29, 2020 | |
| In December 2011, mother of five Chanin Starbuck is brutally murdered in her Deer Park, Washington home, and her body is found in a sexually suggestive position. Investigators believe Chanin's killer was someone she knew, and during their investigation, they find startling clues on her cell phone that help point to the murderer's identity. | ||||
| 12 | 12 | "A Killer Snapshot" | March 29, 2020 | |
| In November 2009, a young woman's body is found in Moss Bluff, Louisiana. Tattoos on the victim help to identify her as 19 year-old Sierra Bouzigard, and while the crime initially appears to be sexually motivated, no DNA is recovered from Sierra's rape kit. However, DNA under Sierra's fingernails matches DNA evidence found on a candy wrapper near the scene. After several years with no answers, Blake Russell is identified as a suspect using new DNA technology. | ||||
| 13 | 13 | "Church Lady" | April 5, 2020 | |
| In January 2008, 42-year-old Rhonda Smith was shot as she did volunteer work in the office of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania. Another congregant of the church quickly becomes a suspect due to her bizarre behavior. The discovery of a .38 caliber revolver on the shore of nearby Lake Nockamixon helps to link Rhonda's killer to the gruesome crime. | ||||
| 14 | 14 | "Inside Pocket" | April 5, 2020 | |
| In June 2007, insurance agent Bob Eidman is shot execution-style in his St. Charles County, Missouri office. Despite the murder occurring in broad daylight, the killer escaped unseen, leaving no fingerprints behind. Years after the murder, touch DNA evidence found in the victim's back pocket is eventually able to lead investigators to a surprising suspect - one of Bill's insurance clients. | ||||
| 15 | 15 | "The Car Accident" | April 12, 2020 | |
| In March 2005, Rosemarie Essa was driving to a local movie theater when she collapsed behind the wheel of her car, bumped into another vehicle, and died. Suspicious investigators discover that her death was not what it appeared, and that she was actually the victim of cyanide poisoning, and the case leads to an international manhunt when a prime suspect flees to Lebanon. | ||||
| 16 | 16 | "The Black Hole" | April 12, 2020 | |
| In July 2000, the decomposing body of 22 year-old Misty Morse is found in the Indian River Lagoon. Her ex-boyfriend Brent Huck becomes an initial suspect, but there is little evidence at the scene. However, there are dog hairs found on duct tape on Misty's body, and testing mitochondrial DNA from Brent Huck's dogs' hairs helps to identify him as Misty's murderer. | ||||
Future seasons
In May 2020, the show was renewed for an additional two seasons of 16 episodes each, set to begin airing in 2021. Bill Camp will return as narrator.[1]
References
- ""Forensic Files II", HLN's Highest Rated Original Series Ever, Is Renewed for Two Seasons with 32 Episodes". The Futon Critic. May 12, 2020.
- Schlichter, Jay (May 2, 2016). "Famed voice-over icon Peter Thomas dies at 91". Naples Daily News.
- Steinberg, Brian (October 1, 2019). "HLN Will Re-Open 'Forensic Files' in Quest for True-Crime Content (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- Walsten, Jessika (January 15, 2020). "Bill Camp to Narrate HLN's 'Forensic Files II'". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- Owen, Rob (February 20, 2020). "HLN reopens true crime series 'Forensic Files'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- @forensicfiles (February 17, 2020). "It's the first season of Forensic Files II" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Wilkinson, Amy (February 23, 2020). "Can Forensic Files II Recapture the Magic of a True-Crime Trailblazer?". Vulture. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- "The Wait is Over! "Forensic Files II", Narrated by Bill Camp ("Dark Waters", "Joker"), Launches Sunday, February 23 at 10pm ET/PT Exclusively on HLN". CNN. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
