iHeartPodcasts and KT Studios Announce Next Slate of True-Crime Podcasts on the Heels of Hit Podcast Performers “Death Island” and “The Piketon Massacre”
iHeartPodcasts, the No. 1 global podcast publisher, according to Podtrac, and KT Studios, a Los Angeles-based full-service documentary, scripted and podcast production company and leader in the true-crime space, today announced a new slate of true-crime podcasts.
The news follows the recent chart-topping success of KT Studio’s launch of “Death Island with Conor Powell,” which soared to No. 1 on iHeart since its launch, and the fourth season of the returnable “The Piketon Massacre,” which, to date, has garnered more than 40 million downloads and remains on the top-10 chart. KT Studios is currently shopping “Death Island” as a documentary and scripted series, as well as its upcoming slate.
Continuing its robust 140-plus-hour slate deal with iHeartPodcasts, the upcoming lineup with KT Studios includes the following:
The Moscow Massacre (Summer 2023): On November 13, 2022, four students from the University of Idaho were brutally stabbed to death in an off-campus house. After a lengthy investigation and cross-country manhunt, a Ph.D. student from a neighboring university was charged with the crimes. As it turns out, the 28-year-old was majoring in criminology, studying the behavior of killers, like the ones he would later be accused of becoming. Did he use his skills to become a real-life Dexter Morgan? Were the Idaho victims his first, or was a serial killer hiding in the midst? The Moscow Massacre is executive produced by KT Studios, Stephanie Lydecker, Courtney Armstrong, Jeff Shane, and Chris Spargo.
True Crimes (Winter 2023): In 2019, Netflix’s true-crime docuseries Don’t F**k With Cats became a sensation, when two amateur sleuths, Deanna Thompson (also known as Baudi Moovan) and John Green tracked down a cat killer who turned to human murder. With millions of views, crime fans propelled the series to become one of the year’s most-streamed shows. In True Crimes, the duo is tackling new unsolved crimes, including the 2022 unsolved murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, whose suspected killer was just arrested. Over the course of each season, Deanna and John flex their investigative prowess, working with victims’ loved ones, law enforcement, forensic specialists, and other experts, to uncover the truth in true crimes. True Crimes is executive produced by Stephanie Lydecker, Deanna Thompson, John Green, Courtney Armstrong, Jeff Shane, and Andrew Aronow.
Murder 101 (Early 2024): In a small Tennessee town, a local serial killer was caught by the most unlikely investigators: A group of high school students, led by their teacher, Alex Campbell. Throughout the course of one school semester, the class pieced together a 30-year-old mystery and identified the killer behind at least six brutal murders. Shockingly, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations publicly agrees with their theory, no charges have been filed against the murderer. While some sleuthing students already have graduated, they, along with a fresh crop of current high schoolers, still want to finish the assignment, once and for all. Murder 101 is executive produced by Stephanie Lydecker, Andrew Aronow, Jeff Shane, Alex Campbell and Conor Powell.
The full slate of co-produced shows is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and will be available on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are heard.
“All our podcast programming shares the same distinct DNA that uniquely makes them KT Studio titles,” says Stephanie Lydecker, Founder, and CEO of KT Studios. “We strive to create important and timely IP that can quickly reach different audiences through television/streaming adaptations. The team and I at KT Studios are committed to developing and producing ethical and compelling content for all platforms. We’re proud to give voice to the victims’ families and bring much-needed heat to active investigations that risk going cold.”
It's been a busy year for KT Studios. The company is receiving critical acclaim for their fourth season of its true crime podcast The Piketon Massacre, which revisits the most notorious mass murder in Ohio’s history that left eight family members dead in their homes, and an impressive first season of Death Island, which investigates a mysterious island where dozens of tourists have allegedly been murdered since 2006 without explanation. Additional successful podcasts include The Dougherty Gang and Crazy in Love; the company’s slate also boasts several recent television projects, such as Murdered and Missing in Montana (Peacock) and Injustice with Nancy Grace (Oxygen).
About KT Studios
Founded in 2018 by veteran development and production executive and CEO Stephanie Lydecker, KT Studios is an LA-based, full-service production company that specializes in creating and producing ambitious and diverse unscripted and scripted television, podcasts, and documentary films. Under Lydecker’s leadership, the team has built the company into a true-crime powerhouse with titles such as Murdered and Missing in Montana (Peacock), Injustice with Nancy Grace (Oxygen), and The Piketon Family Murders (Oxygen). KT Studios, a leader in the podcast space, has a 140-plus-hour slate deal with iHeartPodcasts that includes The Dougherty Gang, Crazy in Love, and the hit series The Piketon Massacre, now in its fourth season. Having become the #1 podcast in the country in its second season, The Piketon Massacre has amassed over 40 million downloads to date and is being adapted for television. The company also produced The Masked Singer, a companion to the hit competition format on FOX.