NBC News, Blumhouse Set Scripted Series Based on ‘Dateline’ Story (EXCLUSIVE)

By Brian Steinberg

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – NBC News Studios and Blumhouse Television will co-produce a new scripted series based on “Dateline” coverage of a series of Missouri murder cases, the first project between the two under a partnership that was announced earlier in 2020.

“Dateline” has devoted several episodes to the murder of Besty Faria in 2011, a case in which her husband was originally sentenced, then freed as another suspect came to the fore. “Dateline” would become part of the saga. The NBC News program has covered the case several times since 2014, and created a podcast, “The Thing About Pam,” devoted to it in 2019. Pam Hupp was convicted in 2019 of a murder that officials think was orchestrated to pin the Faria case on the victim’s husband.

“We have covered this story from all angles, including as an unwitting participant,” said Liz Cole, president of NBC News Studios and executive producer of “Dateline,” in a prepared statement. “Having been at the forefront of the true crime genre for so long, we know better than anyone that truth is often stranger than fiction, and with the twists and turns in this case, we saw a real opportunity to present it in a scripted format. We are so fortunate and pleased to be co-producing it with the brilliant storytellers at Blumhouse Television.”

NBC News Studios was launched in January , part of a bid by NBC News to produce premium documentaries, docu-series, select scripted programming, and content for emerging platforms, including streaming-video outlets. The unit replaced the long-running Peacock Productions, an NBC News production unit focused recently on developing true-crime series for cable networks. At the time, Blumhouse Television and NBC News Studios unveiled a pact to develop and produce original scripted programs based on “Dateline” stories. Blumhouse has produced “The Jinx” as well as the recent scripted Showtime series “The Loudest Voice.”

“We’re not just looking for monsters under the bed, but also the things that keep us up at night so the chance to mine the incredibly rich trove of material from the ‘Dateline’ archives to develop is a really unique and exciting opportunity for us.” said Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold co-presidents Blumhouse Television, in a prepared statement. “When we first came across ‘The Thing About Pam’ ,like thousands of others who’ve seen the ‘Dateline’ episode and listened to the podcast, we were riveted. So when NBC presented this to us we jumped at making this our first scripted project with them.”

Cole will executive produce for NBC News Studios. Jason Blum, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold will executive produce for Blumhouse Television.
 
David Corvo is the senior executive producer for Dateline.