On today’s episode of the “Daily Variety” podcast, highlights from Variety’s True Crime Summit held March 13 at SXSW, Nancy Grace talks about Kuri Richens, “Inside Edition” host Eva Pilgrim, “Quiet on Set,” “The Fall of Diddy,” “Lost Women of Alaska,” “Wise Crack” producer, Investigation Hear from executives from Discovery, Audible, Pushkin Industries, Sony Podcasts and more. Festival in Austin, Texas.
One of the biggest topics considered at the summit was a simple question: “Why is true crime so addictive?” Emily Longeretta, Variety’s features director, moderated many of the panels that featured the topic. She noted comments from Kevin Fitzpatrick, executive producer of the long-running ID series “Evil Lives Here.”
“Kevin Fitzpatrick was explaining that in today’s world, more than ever before, we want answers, we want truth, so people just turn on this feature in hopes of getting resolutions to these stories,” Longeretta observes. “Of course, sadly, we all know that not every true crime story has a resolution, and most don’t have a happy ending. But sometimes they do. I mean, a lot of it is hearing really powerful stories, empathizing with other people, hearing the truth, wanting to hear from families. And you can relate to any story, and I think that’s what’s at the heart of it.”
Nancy Grace, a prosecutor turned crime host and producer, discussed the case of Cori Richens, a Utah woman who was convicted on March 16 of murdering her husband and the father of her two young sons. “Rot in hell, woman,” Grace shouted while discussing the case in a keynote speech with Variety magazine co-president and publisher Dear Lawrence, three days before the jury’s verdict.
“Not only did Ms. Richins kill her husband with a fentanyl overdose, but everyone would believe that not only was he dead, but he committed suicide because he was stupid enough to have a little boy to raise without a father,” Grace said. “She went on to write books about how to help children deal with grief and get televised. So yeah, that may have been her downfall, because if people weren’t paying attention before, they were gone. Kuri Richins, and it wasn’t the first time. She reportedly tried to poison her son with a sandwich.”
David Karabinis, co-founder and CEO of Texas Crew Productions, a prolific producer of true crime series for Hulu, Discovery+, History, Peacock, ID, and more, spoke about the responsibility that comes with working on true crime material. It is important for producers to remember that they are dealing with the lives and legacies of people who may be shaped by their stories.
“A lot of what we find all the time is that a lot of the victims’ families want answers or just want people to understand what was lost here. Because I think one of the things that we all do is we always end up being very respectful to the victims,” Karabinis said. “And we want to bring the victims to life through storytelling, and I think by doing that, we end up giving them quite a bit of respect. And again, just making sure that the people who are consuming this really understand the gravity of the crime and what was taken.”
Pilgrim, an alumnus of NBC News and many “Dateline” investigations, said she always thinks about the lasting impact on those affected by crime.
“Because you think about these people’s children, who may have been young when something happened, but their only real sense of what it is, what they’re looking back on, is that you created it,” Pilgrim said.
(Photo: A fan picks up a souvenir ID tote bag at Variety’s True Crime Summit during the SXSW festival on March 13 in Austin, Texas.)
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