EXCLUSIVE: LA’s KT Studios is shopping podcast Death Island with Conor Powell as a TV series, as it launches a slate of true-crime shows alongside iHeartPodcasts.
Death Island has topped iHeart’s podcast charts since its launch. It follows a series of brutal killings and mysterious disappearances in the Thailand paradise island Koh Tao, and KT is now taking out to market in documentary and scripted series packages.
KT has a a 140-hour podcast slate deal with iHeartPodcasts and will next be launching The Moscow Massacre, True Crimes and Murder 101.
The Moscow Massacre will launch this summer. It follows the murders of four students from the University of Idaho, who were brutally stabbed to death in an off-campus house last November. Following an investigation and cross-country man hunt, a PhD student from a neighboring university was charged with the crimes. Stephanie Lydecker, Courtney Armstrong, Jeff Shane, and Chris Spargo are the executive producers.
True Crimes will launch in the winter of 2023 and follows amateur sleuths Deanna Thompson (also known as Baudi Moovan) and John Green, best known for Netflix doc series Don’t F*** With Cats. They will tackle unsolved crimes, including the 2022 murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, whose suspected killer has just been arrested. The pair will work with victims’ loved ones, law enforcement, forensic specialists and other experts to uncover the truth. Stephanie Lydecker, Deanna Thompson, John Green, Courtney Armstrong, Jeff Shane and Andrew Aronow are executive producers.
Murder 101 follows early in 2024. It follows how a group of small town Tennessee high school students, led by teacher Alex Campbell, pieced together a 30-year mystery to identify the killer behind at least six murders. No charges have been filed against the suspect, despite the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations publicly agreeing with their theory. Stephanie Lydecker, Andrew Aronow, Jeff Shane, Alex Campbell and Conor Powell are exec producers.
All three shows are co-produced and will be distributed via iHeartPodcasts, on the iHeartRadio app and all other pod platforms.
“All our podcast programming shares the same distinct DNA that uniquely makes them KT Studio titles,” says Lydecker, founder and CEO of KT Studios. “We strive to create important and timely IP that can quickly reach different audiences through television/streaming adaptations. The team and I at KT Studios are committed to developing and producing ethical and compelling content for all platforms. We’re proud to give voice to the victims’ families and bring much-needed heat to active investigations that risk going cold.”
KT Studios is also coming off critically acclaimed podcast The Piketon Massacre and has launched others such as The Dougherty Gang and Crazy in Love. The company is behind TV series such as Peacock’s Murdered and Missing in Montana and Oxygen’s Injustice with Nancy Grace.