Court TV to launch 37-part docuseries on OJ Simpson murder trail

Court TV will launch a 37-part docuseries on the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial starting in January 2020, according to Court TV channel owner Katz Networks.

The 1995 not guilty verdict for Simpson in the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, sent shockwaves across the nation.

Roger Cossack, a longtime legal analyst, has been chosen to host the series about the 37-week trial.

{mosads}“Mining the vast Court TV library of more than a thousand trials provides the new opportunity to tell compelling true-crime stories and create captivating content supporting our live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the country’s top current trials,” said Jonathan Katz, president and CEO of Katz Networks.

Court TV relaunched as a 24-hour channel in May.

The cable channel that focuses on crimes and trials was originally launched in 1991. It enjoyed success, particularly leading up to and during the O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony trials, but was eventually converted to truTV in 2008.

The murder and trial have seen a renewed media focus in recent years as a new audience has been exposed to the media sensation.

FX won five Primetime Emmy awards for its 2016 anthology “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and in the same year, ESPN aired a docuseries “O.J.: Made in America,” which also won a pair of Emmys. 

Scott Tufts, who serves as vice president and managing editor for Court TV, told the Television Critics Association press tour over the weekend that with the Simpson trial now more than 25 years old, many people under 40 may not be aware of the details around the highly controversial trial that captured America’s attention at the time.

“Everyone knows one line from Johnnie Cochran. They don’t know what really happened,” said Tufts. 

“For many viewers under the age of 40, this will be their first opportunity to see the trial.”

The docuseries, titled “OJ25” will mark the first time Court TV has explored offering original programming.