ITVX makes double Wag true crime order & bulks up with WB shows

In Search of Instagram’s Worst Con Artist

Soon-to-launch UK streamer ITVX has ordered two true crime titles from Wag Entertainment and struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery International Television Distribution to bring a raft of US dramas to the platform.

In Search Of Instagram’s Worst Con Artist is a 2 x 60-minute series telling the inside story of Belle Gibson, the 21-year-old social influencer who claimed she cured her terminal cancer through wellness and healthy eating.

Her miraculous story brought her fame and money, with a successful app, a book deal and countless television appearances.  But when journalists investigated, they discovered something shocking: none of her story was true – she never had the cancer.  She had misled her millions of followers – and for some there were devastating consequences.

Also from Wag is The Real Fatal Attraction, a 1 x 60-minute doc about a married barrister whose attempt to end an affair leads to a shocking revenge plot. When his lover discovered he was married and wanted to call it off, it escalates to false accusations of rape and suspicions of conspiracy to murder, leaving him to discover the high price of his affair.

Both shows will launch on ITVX and ITV1 in 2023.

“In Search of Instagram’s Worst Con Artist is an extraordinary story of our time that highlights the complex world of social media, in which we create a profile and can choose how we want the world to see us, but how far will we go for likes?,” said Nicola Lloyd, who commissioned both shows for ITVX.

“The Real Fatal Attraction is a jaw-dropping and shocking tale of how an infatuation quickly turned into revenge. It illuminates our two most primal emotions: love and hate, demonstrating how one mistake can have devastating consequences. You’ll find yourself questioning and re-questioning your own judgement as the shocking twists and turns in the story unfold,” Lloyd added.

Arrow

Bulking up with WB content

ITV has also struck an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery International Television Distribution to bring a raft of popular US TV series to the free-to-air platform.

Content launching on ITVX in late 2022 and early 2023 includes two DC Comics dramas: Arrow, starring Stephen Amell as the titular vigilante superhero, and all five seasons of Gotham, which stars Ben McKenzie as Detective Gordon and David Mazouz as the young Bruce Wayne.

All eight series of The Vampire Diaries, starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder, and all five series of spin-off supernatural drama The Originals, starring Joseph Morgan, will also be available to stream on the service in early 2023.

All ten series of the DC drama Smallville, starring Tom Welling as a teenaged Clark Kent before he becomes Superman, and all 12 series of sitcom Two And A Half Men, starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Ashton Kutcher will also be made available this December.