Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are jumping on TV’s seemingly evergreen true crime bandwagon. The producers and married couple behind Milojo Productions have signed a new development deal with the crime-loving Oxygen network.
Under the pact, the duo and fellow executive producer Albert Bianchini will develop a slate of unscripted series in the true crime space for the NBCUniversal cable network, which charted a hard rebrand into true crime in 2017.
“I have been a loyal Oxygen viewer ever since I stumbled upon my very first Snappedmarathon that Sunday while making meatballs,” says Ripa of the news. “Not only have I learned how to commit the perfect crime and dispose of the body, I’ve also learned what the viewers of Oxygen want and that’s why this programming partnership makes perfect sense.”
While balancing their respective day jobs — Ripa as host of perennial syndicated hit Live!and Consuelos as a castmember of CW hit Riverdale — Milojo Productions continues to churn out new projects. The shingle recently had two scripted projects in contention at ABC, and notably produced Emmy-nominated doc The Streak for ESPN and Off the Rez at TLC.
“Working with super fans like Kelly and Mark is a dream come true for a true crime network,” said Cori Abraham, Oxygen senior vp development, production and international media. “They’re both passionate about true crime, and we want to be in business with those who eat, sleep and breathe the genre.”
Oxygen’s rebrand has done wonders for the network’s ratings. Certain segments of the network’s audience climbed as much as 32 percent in 2018 in the year after moving on from its more ambiguously female-focused content.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter