Hulu Sets Docs on Atlanta Spring Break ‘Freaknik,’ Jewel Thief Gerald Blanchard and ‘Park Avenue Peerage’ Blog (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas
·2 min read
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Hulu is adding three new titles to its growing lineup of original docs: “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” “Queenmaker: The Making of An It Girl,” and “The Jewel Thief.”

“Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” “recounts the rise and fall of a small Atlanta HBCU picnic that exploded into an influential street party and spotlighted ATL as a major cultural stage,” per Hulu’s description. “Can the magic of Freaknik be brought back 40 years later?

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Executive producers include showrunner Geraldine L. Porras and director P Frank Williams, as well as Jermaine Dupri, Luther Campbell, Peter Bittenbender and Melissa Cooper for Mass Appeal, Eric Tomosunas for Swirl Films, Terry Ross and Alex Avant. Nikki Byles and Jay Allen are producers.

From MRC, “Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl” reveals the story behind the now-defunct “Park Avenue Peerage” blog. “In the height of heiress-era NYC, an anonymous blogger infiltrated Manhattan’s elite, bringing socialite celebrity to new heights,” according to the doc’s logline. “When the website’s creator was unmasked, the mastermind was not who anybody expected.”

Scott Kaplan is executive producing alongside CoverStory partner Emmet McDermott as producer. Zackary Drucker is directing the doc.

“The Jewel Thief” will give “the unbelievable first-hand account of Gerald Blanchard, one of the most creative, calculating and accomplished criminal masterminds in modern history,” Hulu writes. “Two unlikely Winnipeg detectives track Blanchard across the globe as he perpetrates a series of increasingly elaborate heists in a quest for fame and notoriety through a life of crime.”

The doc comes from A Submarine Deluxe Production in association with Transient Pictures with Landon Van Soest set as director. Executive producers include Rick Brookwell and Ben Schwartz. Josh Braun, Ben Braun, Dan Braun and Van Soest are producers.

These new doc orders come on the heels of Hulu announcing its upcoming “Child Star” doc about famous child actors, which will mark Demi Lovato’s directorial debut, as well as feature the star among its subjects. The project “deconstructs the highs and lows of growing up in the spotlight through the lens of some of the world’s most famous former child stars.”

Hulu’s been focused on ramping up its doc space over the past year, debuting record-breaking titles including “Captive Audience,” “Victoria Secret: Angels and Demons,” “God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty” last year, and “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence” this February.

Hulu Originals’ doc division is run by senior vice president of documentaries and unscripted series Belisa Balaban and documentaries vice president Beth Osisek.

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