National Geographic Heats Up August With New Series Premieres and the Release of Trailer and Key Art for Killer Lies: Chasing a True Crime Con Man

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 25, 2024) – Heating up storytelling for the month of August, National Geographic released the trailer and key art for its summer marquee true-crime series KILLER LIES: CHASING A TRUE CRIME CON MAN, set to premiere Aug. 28 at 8/7c on Nat Geo and stream the next day on Hulu. The three-part series tracks the rise and fall of serial killer expert Stéphane Bourgoin whose dark lies are exposed by sleuthing fans. Other true-crime premieres include the cable premiere of the hit Hulu original series CULT MASSACRE: ONE DAY IN JONESTOWN on Aug. 14 beginning at 8/7c, that explores Jim Jones’ idealistic religious organization that ultimately spiraled into a mass casualty event that left 918 people dead and CURSED GOLD: A SHIPWRECK SCANDAL will air all episodes back-to-back episodes on Aug. 21 at 8/7c, which tells the story of a maverick scientist who stuns the world by finding a deep-ocean shipwreck containing tons of gold and the turmoil that follows.

Produced by The New Yorker Studios and Left/Right and based on Lauren Collins’s 2022 New Yorker exposé “Murder, He Wrote,” KILLER LIES: CHASING A TRUE CRIME CON MAN expands on Collins’s investigation into the rise and fall of a provocative French serial killer expert, Stéphane Bourgoin, who became famous for his extraordinary resume of jailhouse interviews with serial killers as well as his personality quirks, and his morbid encounters. Bourgoin cited the violent and horrifying 1976 slaying of his wife by a serial killer as motivation for his relentless interest in the minds of murderers. After 40 years and 40 books, he becomes the target of a group of online sleuths, known as 4ème Oeil Corporation (4th Eye), who try to untangle his web of lies and unearth the truth.

The three-part series, directed by Emmy®-nominated filmmaker Ben Selkow, fully reveals the online group’s dogged investigation and the shocking extent of Bourgoin’s deception. It features exclusive access to 4th Eye members speaking for the first time on camera in a documentary, along with material from Bourgoin’s own films and past television appearances and forensically reexamined archival footage. Viewers will hear from those closest to Bourgoin for an intimate peek inside a pathological liar’s mind as well as hear from Bourgoin himself in his most comprehensive sit-down interview discussing his motives for fabricating such grandiose lies.

Combined with the investigative journalism of Collins, each episode will delve deeper to discover where the truth ends and lies begin:

• “MURDER HE WROTE”
  Premieres Aug. 28 at 8/7c; Streams Aug. 29 on Hulu
  Stéphane Bourgoin’s success as a world-renowned serial killer expert progressed alongside the rise of serial killers in America and the explosive growth of the lucrative true-crime industry. But when the 4th Eye, a collective of vigilante online sleuths, embarks on an investigation into his life and work, they discover his career was based on a series of dark lies.

• “THE EYE IS ALWAYS WATCHING”
  Premieres Aug. 28 at 9/8c; Streams Aug. 29 on HuluAnchored by reporting from The New Yorker’s Lauren Collins, we follow the dramatic twists and turns of Stéphane Bourgoin’s story. As his career continues to flourish, the 4th Eye’s hunt for the truth reveals that something far darker lies beneath the surface of his fame. The online sleuths work to stop him before more damage is done.

• “THE RECKONING”
  Premieres Aug. 28 at 10/9c; Streams Aug. 29 on Hulu
  As the mysteries of Bourgoin’s past reveal the seeds of his dark obsessions, Lauren Collins continues investigating many alarming unanswered questions. We hear from the victims in this story and delve into the larger themes and questions raised about our insatiable appetite for true crime and the strange compulsions of the human psyche.

KILLER LIES is a poignant exploration of human nature and cultural psychology and a captivating meta-commentary on the global entertainment industry of true-crime. It is a true-crime story within a true-crime story. Ultimately, it was avid true-crime fans who brought Bourgoin down, launching their own investigation of the master who had taught them not to underestimate humanity’s capacity for deceit and evil.

KILLER LIES: CHASING A TRUE CRIME CON MAN is produced by The New Yorker Studios and Left/Right for National Geographic. Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman and Anneka Jones executive produce for Left/Right. For The New Yorker Studios, the executive producers are Helen Estabrook, Sarah Amos, Lexy Altman, and Lauren Collins. Ben Selkow is showrunner plus directs and executive produces the series. For National Geographic, Betsy Forhan serves as executive producer.

New series premieres in August also include the following:

• CULT MASSACRE: ONE DAY IN JONESTOWN
  Premieres Aug. 14 at 8/7c on National Geographic
  Praised by The Wall Street Journal as “a riveting experience” and called “irresistible” by the San Francisco Chronicle, the three-part series was the number one show on Hulu after its premiere June 17. CULT MASSACRE from Emmy Award-winning 72 Films’ David Glover, BAFTA Award-winning director Marian Mohamed, along with Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin,  tells the story of an idealistic religious organization led by the infamous Jim Jones, who set out to establish a utopian community in Guyana. What began as a movement seeking social justice ultimately spiraled into a mass casualty that left 918 dead.

Told by survivors and eyewitnesses, along with rare footage and rare recordings of Jones, the powerful series takes an immersive look into the final harrowing hours leading up to one of America’s darkest chapters. CULT MASSACRE is  the third installment of the Emmy Award-winning, critically acclaimed franchise ONE DAY IN AMERICA. The series is produced by 72 Films for National Geographic. For 72 Films, David Glover and Mark Raphael are executive producers, and Marian Mohamed is director. For National Geographic, Carolyn Payne is executive producer, and Tom McDonald is executive vice president of Global Factual and Unscripted Content.

• CURSED GOLD: A SHIPWRECK SCANDAL
  Premieres Aug 21 at 8/7c on National Geographic, next day on Disney+ and Hulu
  CURSED GOLD: A SHIPWRECK SCANDAL, from BBC Studios and based on the New York Times bestseller “Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea,” tells the true story of maverick scientist Tommy Thompson and his resourceful team who stunned the world in 1989 by recovering three tons of gold from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean from the famous 1857 shipwreck S.S. Central America. The three-part series follows the 30-year story of adventure, deception and personal turmoil that takes Tommy from a celebrated explorer to an infamous fugitive and, ultimately, to the inside of a prison cell. With exclusive access to over 600 hours of archival footage and thousands of slides, prints, photos and newspaper clippings on the original exploration mission – many of which have never been seen before – the series is a cautionary tale of obsession and its devastating consequences.

CURSED GOLD is produced by BBC Studios for National Geographic. The series is executive produced by Alexander Leith, directed by Sam Benstead and Georgia Braham is series producer. Gary Kinder is consulting executive producer and Chris Kugelman executive produces for National Geographic.

About National Geographic Content
Award-winning and critically acclaimed National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, creates and delivers riveting stories and experiences in natural history, science, adventure and exploration. The brand is the largest on social media with over three quarters of a billion followers across all major platforms that generate over one billion impressions each month. Inspiring a deeper connection to the world, National Geographic Content reaches 300 million people worldwide in 180 countries and 33 languages as a digital, social and print publisher and across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Its diverse content includes Emmy® Award-winning franchise Genius, series Life Below Zero and Secrets of the Whales, and Oscar®- and BAFTA award-winning film Free Solo. In 2022, National Geographic Content was awarded eight News and Documentary Emmys, in addition to Life Below Zero’s Emmy win for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program, its sixth Emmy overall. For more information, visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or follow Nat Geo on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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