Forensic Files II is a revival continuation of the long-running American documentary-style true crime series Forensic Files, which originally aired from 1996 to 2011 on various networks. Premiering on February 23, 2020, Forensic Files II's first season consisted of 16 episodes and was broadcast on HLN, with voiceover narration by Bill Camp. The original Forensic Files broadcast over 400 episodes during its original run. On May 12, 2020, the series was renewed for a second and third season. The second season will premiere in 2021.
Development and overview
The last episode of the original Forensic Files series originally aired on June 17, 2011. After the 2016 death of Forensic Files narrator Peter Thomas, the show's executive producer Paul Dowling ruled out the possibility of reviving the series, as he considered Thomas to be "irreplaceable". In October 2019, it was announced that the show would be revived with new episodes to air first-run on HLN in early 2020, with Bill Camp later announced as the new narrator. The revival was clarified as being the first season of a new show, rather than the 15th season of Forensic Files, explained by series producerNancy Duffy as having been done to "differentiate the new episodes from those that came before". Duffy explained: "When we talked about bringing back Forensic Files, a lot of people thought we just meant that we were gonna be old shows that we didn't previously air on HLN and there seemed to be a confusion about that, so there could be no confusion." Series creator Paul Dowling confirmed on Twitter that Forensic Files II was a new, separate show from the original Forensic Files.
Event reenactments
Unlike in the original Forensic Files program, actors were not hired to participate in reenactments of the cases dramatized in Forensic Files II. Instead, various employees of CNN and HLN were utilized to portray victims, suspects, and other individuals for dramatic recreations of real-life events. Series producer Nancy Duffy explained that the reenactments are filmed in a more "impressionistic" way than in the original series, so that the individuals used in the recreations "don't have to look identical" to the people they are portraying. As a result, faces are not shown in the recreations, only bodies from the neck down. Duffy elaborated that employees would approach her and ask to participate in the reenactments, saying that many were "excited" at the prospect of portraying individuals involved in killing, hiding, kidnapping, or the use of physical restraint.
The series premiere began with two back-to-back new episodes on February 23, beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. Two new episodes aired back-to-back each Sunday, with the final episode of the first season airing on April 12, Easter Sunday.
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Future seasons
In May 2020, the show was renewed for an additional two seasons of 16 episodes each, set to begin airing in 2021. Bill Camp will return as narrator.
