EXCLUSIVE: Hearst Networks is following up its AI-aided doc about serial killer Ed Gein with two more true-crime docs from the same team.
Hearst, Spirit Studios and distributor BossaNova Media are back together for Lizzie Borden: 40 Whacks and Aileen Wuornos: Damsel of Death, following the docu-drama Ed Gein: Original Psychopath, which was among Crime+Investigation‘s biggest shows of 2025 and later selected as a Global Breakout.
Lizzie Borden: 40 Whacks’ is a 90-minute film that revisits the infamous 1892 murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, the father and step mother of Lizzie. It draws on on rediscovered police interrogation files to re-examines the evidence, the conflicting accounts and the family tensions surrounding the case, and the enduring mystery of the woman accused of the murders.
The two-part Aileen Wuornos: Damsel of Death re-examines the life, crimes and investigation of one of America’s most notorious female serial killers. It looks at FBI case files and first-hand testimony from Brian Jarvis, the lead detective who investigated Wuornos and questioned her following her arrest, to go beyond the sensationalist headlines that have surrounded the case for decades.
Both shows will use the ‘interrogation room’ as a narrative device, with AI used to build the worlds around Borden and Wuornos, who are portrayed by actors. Given the controversy that continues around using AI in production, Ed Gein came with an advisory note outlining the practice and its role in the doc.
The programs will premiere on Hearst Networks UK’s Crime+Investigation, with Paul Heaney’s BossaNova handling international distribution. Lizzie Borden: 40 Whacks’ premieres on Sunday September 27 at 9pm local UK time, with Aileen Wuornos: Damsel of Death following on Sunday October 4 in the same slot. They will also broadcast internationally.
“We’re really excited to be building on the success of Ed Gein: Original Psycho and bringing back the interrogation-room device that became such a distinctive part of those films,” said Matt Campion, Creative Director and co-founder of Spirit Studios.
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“It gives us a way to combine intense, immersive scripted drama with premium factual storytelling and original case material. Lizzie Borden and Aileen Wuornos are such infamous names that people think they know their stories, but there’s still so much to uncover.”
“With renewed audience interest in these cases, following the ongoing Netflix drama series Monster, these next instalments of both Lizzie Borden: 40 Whacks and Aileen Wuornos: Damsel of Death offer fresh, compelling perspectives on two of the world’s most notorious female killers,” said Hannah Gray, Acquisitions Manager, at Hearst Networks.
“We’re thrilled to be continuing our successful partnership with Spirit Studios with two gripping new shows, Lizzie Borden: 40 Whacks and Aileen Wuornos: Damsel of Death,” said Iona Hopper, Acquisitions Manager at BossaNova. “Spirit Studios are experts at compelling and immersive true crime storytelling, and we are delighted to be partnering again and building on the international success of Ed Gein: Original Psycho.”
Spirit Studios is one of the companies involved in Blackbox Multimedia’s lawsuit against 5 over the collapse of a drama series, as Deadline revealed last week.
