‘Truth About Murder’s Sunny Hostin Gives “Voice to The Voiceless”, Talks How Armchair Detectives Are Obsessed With “The Worst In Humanity” – TCA
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Senior Legal Correspondent for ABC News and former prosecutor Sunny Hostin is seeking for truth and justice in the Investigation Discovery series Truth About Murder with Sunny Hostin. After showing rough-cut footage of Hostin investigating a murder, she was joined on the TCA stage by Executive Producers Hilary Estey McLoughlin and Terence Noonan.
During the session, Hostin, who also serves as an Executive Producer, shared a story about how her uncle was dating a married woman and how one day when she was with them, her husband came home and he pulled out a butcher knife and tried to stab her uncle to death. She said that he lived but he was never the same after that.
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“I mentioned to my dad recently that experience colored my life. His response was, ‘You remembered that?'” said the co-host of The View. “We never spoke about it. That’s how victims of crime deal with it.”
As a result, the man was never charged or arrested. “There was no justice,” she said. “I remember feeling that was wrong and that made me become a prosecutor.” And in turn, that led to this immersive series.
For the series, Noonan said they opted to not investigate murders in big metropolitan areas. “We chose stories in small towns where Sunny could speak to the victims,” he said. “We looked at stories where it could have been your neighbor.”
“We look for cases where people don’t have voices,” Hostin added. “I wanted to give a voice to the voiceless.”
In a time where people are obsessed with true crime and serial killers, Truth About Murder shifts the perspective of that obsession. “I’ve always been obsessed with justice,” said Hostin. “People are a bit obsessed with being armchair detectives and seeing the worst in humanity. In some ways, it may make people feel better sometimes.”
Although Hostin approaches each story as a journalist and prosecutor, she also has the point of view as a person who has been victimized. “We’re human, too,” she said, adding that lowering walls allows you to empathize. “The show is different because of that. It’s unlike anything on TV today. It celebrates justice and survival in many respects.”
In the show, she said looks to show how difficult it is to solve these cases. She speaks to detectives, first responders, family and friends of the victims and the community — gropus that are often missed in similar shows. “When there is a crime like murder, the communities are terrorized,” she said. “We explore it from crime to conviction.”
Truth About Murder is executive produced by Hostin, McLoughlin and Noonan for Lincoln Square Productions and Mike Sheridan and Joe Venafro for First Watch Productions. For Investigation Discovery, Liz Massie is senior executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Winona Meringolo is senior vice president of development, Kevin Bennett is general manager, and Henry Schleiff is Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Destination America, and American Heroes Channel.
Truth About Murder with Sunny Hostin premieres October 22 at 10 pm on Investigation Discovery.
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