Prime Video UK Pre-Buys True Crime Docs On Notorious British Killers, Drug Kingpins & Mysterious Disappearances

Jesse Whittock
·4 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video’s UK arm has pre-bought a suite of true crime docs about some of Britain’s most notorious crimes. The deals with London-based distributor Abacus Media Rights also include acquisitions of two completed series.

On the pre-buy front, the Amazon streamer has taken Woodcut Media double Murder in a Tea Cup and Murder at First Swipe, Peninsula Television’s Scissor Sisters, Big Little Fish’s Breaking Dad: The Richard Lubbock Story (working title) and Future Studios’ Lucie Blackman: Missing in Tokyo.

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The acquisitions are Peninsula three-part shows The Heiress and the Heist and Confession of a Crime Boss.

Prime Video has tapped Amcomri Entertainment-owned Abacus for true crime docs several times over recent years, including for originals on Ian Brady, the murder of Meredith Kercher and Patrick Mackay.

From the new programs, Murder in a Tea Cup looks into one of the most intriguing and bizarre British cases of the 20th Century – the serial murders of poisoner Graham Young. It follows his stranger-than-fiction story from the warning signs in his early years, to his much-disputed death in prison decades later.

Murder at First Swipe looks at Stephen Port, who approached his victims on dating apps before drugging and raping them, then dumping their bodies on the street. It features exclusive interviews from his friends and lovers, and unseen correspondence from Port himself, who became known as the ‘Grindr Killer,’ that allowed him to murder. Both 90-minute docs are from Woodcut Media.

Two-part series Scissor Sisters follows two young women, Charlotte and Linda Mulhall, who stabbed and beat to death their mother’s boyfriend before descending further into depravity by mutilating Farah Swaleh Noor’s body and then dumping his in Dublin’s Royal Canal. This doc revolves around the events which led to the murder of a man, who it was subsequently discovered was a predatory and violent rapist, and resulted in one of the most intensive police hunts in Irish history. Peninsula is the producer

Breaking Dad: The Richard Lubbock Story is from Big Little Fish and follows the story of how a mild-mannered north London Jewish family man became Britain’s biggest meth dealer. Inspired by Lubbock’s son James’ memoir Breaking Dad, it looks at how Lubbock swapped his comfortable life for one of crime at a time when one of the most addictive drugs on the planet was making its way into the beating heartland of the London club scene.

Lucie Blackman: Missing in Tokyo is from Future Studios and follows the disappearance of 20-year-old Blackman, who vanished on summer night in Tokyo in 2000. Her remains were found the following winter buried in a seaside cave. The story begins in Blackman’s quiet, leafy hometown of Sevenoaks and travels to Tokyo’s nightclub district, where she had been working as a ‘hostess.’ The tale includes mysterious cults, conmen, bizarre rituals, and ends with the revelation of an unspeakable crime by one of the world’s most prolific sex offenders.

On the acquisitions front, The Heiress and the Heist is about the the 1974 Russborough House heist and how a gang led by Rose Dugdale, a former debutante from London’s high society, stole millions of pounds-worth of paintings.

Confessions of a Crime Boss looks into the rampant gangland crime of late 20th century Ireland, and the power and influence held by the gangs who controlled the drugs trade during this turbulent time. It sees former crime boss John Gilligan discuss his past in the Irish underworld, including his trial for the murder of crime journalist Veronica Guerin.

Jonathan Ford, Managing Director, AMR who brokered the deal with Amazon’s UK arm, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce this agreement with Prime Video. Viewers in the UK are fascinated by true crime series which continue to attract significant audiences. Our on-going relationships with many of the leading producers of this genre enables us to have some fantastic titles available for pre-buy.”

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