‘It’ Producer Dan Lin Scores CBS Put Pilot Order for Remake of BBC Miniseries ‘Murder’

CBS has given a put pilot order to a remake of the BBC miniseries “Murder” from executive producer Dan Lin, Variety has learned exclusively.

The potential series will be shot like a true crime documentary, taking audience inside the emotional journey of an investigation, allowing them to discern the truth and judge the suspects’ guilt or innocence for themselves. The first installment of the BBC version released in 2012, with three follow-ups released in 2016. Each episode serves as a standalone story and describes the events leading to and immediately after a murder has taken place.

Lin, who also recently produced the hit horror film “It” and previously produced “The LEGO Movie” and “The LEGO Batman Movie,” will executive produce under his Lin Pictures banner. Amanda Green will write and executive produce. Green previously worked with Lin as a writer on Fox’s “Lethal Weapon,” which Lin executive produces. Lindsey Liberatore will co-executive produce. Warner Bros. Television will produce in association with Lin Pictures.

Lin Pictures is repped by UTA, as is Green.

True crime docu-series have proven incredibly popular in recent years. The Netflix 10-episode series “Making a Murderer” investigated the case against convicted Wisconsin murderers Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, calling into question the evidence against them and the police department’s potential motive against Avery. Most recently, Dassey’s confession was thrown out by an appeals court and he was granted a new trial. Netflix also recently released “The Keepers,” which explores the unsolved murder of the Baltimore nun Sister Cathy Cesnik in 1969.

Likewise, the podcast “Serial” examined the case against Adnan Masud Syed, who was convicted in 2000 of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Maryland. After the release of “Serial,” a judge vacated Syed’s conviction and he was also granted a new trial in 2016.

The genre has proven so popular, in fact, it has even been the subject of parody. On Sept. 15, Netflix will release the eight-episode true-crime spoof “American Vandal,” which explores the fictional case of a high school student who is expelled after he is accused of spray painting penises on over two dozen faculty cars.