David Farnor | On 01, Oct 2019

Sky Crime is now live in the UK, bringing with it a host of true crime box sets and premieres.

The channel, announced earlier this year, sees the UK broadcaster capitalising on the appetite for true crime with a dedicated hub for documentaries and dramas, charting famous cases, notorious killers and unsolved mysteries.

It is home to programming from Oxygen and HBO, as well as quality first run content from Jupiter and Woodcut.

Launch on 6th October is I Love You, Now Die, which gives viewers unprecedented access into a suicide case that sparked sensational headlines and captured a nation. This is the story of Michelle Carter, the teenager placed on trial for coercing her boyfriend to kill himself via a series of disturbing text messages. The case is brought to light in a way that’s sure to get crime fans pulses racing.

Debuting on 7th October is Conman: The Life and Crimes of Mark Acklom, while today marks the first episode of Snapped, which depicts the true, high profile and bizarre stories of women pushed to the edge. In the first episode, Snapped explores the story of a teenager who is served the ultimate betrayal by her closest friends, while her family are shocked to learn the truth about her disappearance.

The day after marks the arrival of In Defense Of, which provides a chilling account of the complex relationships between notorious defendants – including Jodi Arias, Clive Doyle and Timothy McVeigh – and the attorneys that represented them. And Friday sees the premiere of Mark of a Killer, which examines the disturbing traits and behaviours of serial killers across the world, beginning with The Gainesville Ripper.

Arriving on 20th October, Who Killed Garrett Phillips? is a two-part documentary explores the case of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips, who was murdered in his home, in a small town in upstate New York in late 2011. Police quickly zeroed in on a suspect in this unthinkable crime: Oral “Nick” Hillary, a Black man in the mostly white community, the soccer coach at Clarkson University and the ex-boyfriend of Garrett’s mother, Tandy Cyrus.

In November, Sky Crime will investigate The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell.

Box sets of previously run shows also available on-demand through Sky Crime include The Case Against Adnan Syed, The Jinx and Britain’s Most Evil Killers.

Don’t have Sky? Streaming service NOW gives you access to all the same shows, all for £7.99 a month, with no contract. (Note: The price goes up to £8.99 a month from 9th October.)

 

Sky launches Sky Comedy and Sky Crime channels featuring Saturday Night Live and more

24th August 2019

Sky has has announced two new channels on the way to its entertainment portfolio. Sky Crime will launch in October 2019 and Sky Comedy in February 2020, each one providing a clearer destination for Sky’s true crime and comedic output – and, more specifically, imports from the US.

Sky Crime will be the home of premium US true crime from Oxygen and HBO and the dedicated home of quality first run content from Jupiter and Woodcut. Key programming will include addictive, emotionally charged accounts of true crimes, many of which remain unsolved, such as I Love You, Now Die and The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell. Additionally, famous headline cases from the US and UK six as Kemper on Kemper and Britain’s Most Evil Killers and the In Defense Of series will bring new insight into some of the most notorious killers of modern times.

Sky Comedy, launching in February 2020, will be the home of premium scripted US comedy from HBO, NBC and Showtime, including brand new comedies such as Mrs Fletcher, starring Kathryn Hahn, The Righteous Gemstones, starring John Goodman, Adam DeVine and Danny McBride, A.P. Bio and Sunnyside.

Perhaps most exciting of all, though, is Sky Comedy will also feature top rated US talk shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which will air for the first time in the UK alongside Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will also be featured. More notably, comedy titan Saturday Night Live will also air on Sky Comedy, the first time the iconic show has aired properly on UK TV since 2006. Whether it will be the full-length episodes or a 60-minute version cut down for syndication is not yet known, although both are a step up from fans streaming clips on YouTube.

The channel will also broadcast a library of favourites such as Will & Grace and Parks and Recreation, and all new series of returning hit US shows such as Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Ballers starring Dwayne Johnson.

Both channels will be available to all Sky customers at no extra charge, through linear and on-demand. The channels will also be available on NOW, as part of the NOW Entertainment pass.

Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content at Sky, says: “Sky Crime and Sky Comedy are fantastic additions to our entertainment portfolio, providing our customers with two new destinations for their favourite shows. Sky Crime, the home of premium true crime, will complement Sky Witness perfectly, while Sky Comedy is an exciting new proposition for Sky customers, offering them a daily dose of the best US comedy which will sit alongside our expanding slate of Sky Original comedy on Sky One.  By investing in the best of the US as well as doubling our investment in original drama and comedy, we are making Sky an unbeatable destination for the best range of premium TV.” 

The entertainment portfolio on Sky in the UK and Ireland will therefore soon include six core Sky channel brands: Sky One, Sky Atlantic, Sky Witness, Sky Arts, Sky Crime and Sky Comedy, alongside the Sky Cinema and Sky Kids services. Sky’s other channel brands include E!, SYFY, Pick and Challenge.

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