JonBenet Ramsey is the next O.J. Simpson. Twenty years after the child beauty queen’s death, a trio of TV projects will explore her unsolved murder. Lifetime revealed Aug. 10 that it will debut Who Killed JonBenet?, starring Payton Lepinski as the 6-year-old whose strangled body was discovered in her family’s home Dec. 26, 1996. The telepic, set to air in the fall, joins Investigation Discovery’s three-part special JonBenet: An American Murder Mystery, which will premiere Sept. 12 and is said to include new evidence, and CBS’ The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey, whose title was changed from Case Closed to reflect the investigation’s ongoing nature.
The six-hour docuseries from Emmy winner Tom Forman will bow Sept. 18 and feature original investigators and new experts reexamining evidence using advanced technology. “The sheer scope of their investigation is unprecedented, from building a full-scale model of the Ramsey home to chasing new leads across the country,” CBS president Glenn Geller said Aug. 11. Renewed interest in Ramsey, whose now-infamous photo graced a recent People cover, comes after FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and ESPN’s O.J.: Made in America found success reviving another notorious ’90s case.
This story first appeared in the Aug. 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
