Snapchat Moves Into True Crime Genre With Original Series – INTV
Snapchat has moved into the true crime genre after launching its first original in the space. The so..
Snapchat has moved into the true crime genre after launching its first original in the space. The social media company has ordered True Crime, a series of 4 minute documentaries that will each look at a different crime, including murders and disappearances.
I understand that the show, which launches today in English-speaking markets, is being produced by Condé Nast’s video team. Each episode will focus on a different case. It was ordered by Snap’s head of original content Sean Mills, who gave an exclusive glimpse of the series at the In-TV conference, organized by Keshet, in Jerusalem.
Mills said, “This is a year where we’ll play with a lot of new genres. We’re still experimenting.” He said that he is looking to move into other areas such as horror, teen drama and is “fascinated” to find out what a daily soap would look like on the service, adding that he has been deconstructing Latin American telenovelas to see if that structure would work.
The move into true crime will likely appeal to some of Snapchat’s slighty older subscribers. Mills, who was previously President of video start-up NowThis, said, “More than half of our new users are over the ripe of 25” and that despite being labelled as a service for youngsters, these users are its fastest growing segment.
Snapchat launched 40 non-scripted series last year following Mills’ hire in 2015. Last month, it renewed Thumb Candy Media’s prank series Fright Club and fashion format Nail The Look for second seasons.
Mills said that its original content drive has been largely focused on the U.S. market but told Deadline that he is keen to expand this drive internationally and, in particular, in the UK, where he urged producers to approach him with new ideas.
