Spike TV Plays Amateur Detective to Solve Real-Life Crimes in 'Murder'
Bunim-Murray to Produce 10 Episode Series in which Amateur Sleuths Attempt
to Correctly Solve Homicide Cases Pulled from Actual Police Files
Premieres Summer 2007
NEW YORK, Feb. 20 -- Spike TV has ordered 10 one-hour
episodes of the alternative/reality series "Murder" from reality innovator
Bunim-Murray Productions, set to premiere in the Summer of 2007. Following
in the dramatic tradition of "CSI" and "Law and Order," "Murder" is an
unscripted series in which amateur sleuths try to correctly solve a real
homicide pulled directly from police files.
Each episode of "Murder" begins with series host, 20-year Arlington, TX
law enforcement veteran with multiple capital murder convictions, Detective
Tommy Le Noir escorting two groups of civilians into an exact replica crime
scene pulled from the files of an existing homicide case. The original
crime scenes are re-created down to the very last detail, so that teams
experience exactly what the original detectives encountered when they first
entered the crime scene and began their investigation. Every pertinent
detail available to the original detectives has been recreated and is
available to the teams, who have the opportunity to assess the crime scene
and collect evidence. Our real-life homicide detective also reveals a list
of potential suspects, along with their backgrounds and alibis. The teams
also meet with a coroner who reviews the findings of the original autopsy
report.
The contestants are given 48 hours to complete their investigation,
collect and catalogue their evidence and use their own smarts and instincts
to find the murderer. Each group makes a dynamic visual presentation with
its findings to Detective Le Noir. After the presentations, Detective Le
Noir presents what actually happened at the crime scene and reveals which
group came to the correct case conclusion. Each week, the group that made
the correct, or more compelling case, will have a donation made in their
names to a selected victim's charity.
"For the viewer, 'Murder' fuses the authenticity of a real-life crime
scene with the suspense of trying to solve the murder before the
contestants on the show," said Jon Murray, Executive Producer and Chairman
and President, Bunim-Murray Productions. "We are excited to be working with
Spike TV on such a cutting-edge series and hope the audience will take away
a sense of how strategic and meticulous crime detectives must be on a daily
basis."
Kevin Lee of Tollbooth Television, who created the series and Jon
Murray of Bunim-Murray serve as Executive Producers for "Murder." Sharon
Levy is Spike TV's Senior Vice President of Alternative Programming. Tim
Duffy is Spike TV's Executive in Charge of Production.
Bunim-Murray Productions is the leading independent producer of
innovative entertainment content. The company is widely credited with
creating the reality television genre with its hit series "The Real World"
(now in its 18th season on MTV). Bunim-Murray's other current programming
includes "Road Rules" (with its return on MTV earlier this year), "Real
World Road Rules Challenge" (MTV), "The Simple Life" (renewed for its fifth
season on E!) and "The Bad Girls Club" (Oxygen). Bunim-Murray also recently
launched M Theory Entertainment, a spin-off entity focusing on new media
initiatives, to better reach the Digital Generation. Bunim-Murray
Productions is based in Van Nuys, CA. It was founded in 1987 by Jonathan
Murray and the late Mary-Ellis Bunim.
Spike TV is available in 91.6 million homes and is a division of MTV
Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the
world's leading creators of programming and content across all media
platforms.
SOURCE Spike TV
http://www.spiketv.com/
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