True crime documentaries: production teams’actions to appeal to consumers

Sammanfattning: The true crime genre was invented by Truman Capote in 1965 with his work In Cold Blood.Since that day, the amount of true crime content and the number of consumers have continuedto grow. This type of content can be found in many different forms such as books, movies,series, TV shows, podcasts and more. However, it sometimes attracts a lot of criticism due totheir sensitive and sometimes even exploitative nature.The purpose of this thesis is to explore how true crime documentary producers operate tomake their content appealing to consumers. Here, we focus on true crime documentariesbroadcast on television, streaming and podcast platforms, all of which are aimed at Frenchconsumers.This thesis is based on an interpretivist philosophical approach and on a qualitative researchmethod. We interviewed French individuals working for production of true crimedocumentaries. Our interview was based on three main themes: production, ethics, andpost-production marketing. The goal is to get their opinions, knowledge and experiencesabout the production but also the promotion of attractive true crime documentaries and howethical aspects are considered. Specifically, we asked them about the techniques and toolsused in the creation and promotion of true crime content while taking into account the ethicalexpectations of consumers.This study contributes to previous studies from a theoretical and practical point of view. Froma theoretical point of view, our results have allowed us to understand the impact of thestrategies used by production teams to attract consumers. From a practical point of view, itcan help to better understand the consumption of these contents and related strategies. It canalso be used by future producers who plan to make a true crime documentary. It can also helpbroadcasters, that is to say television, streaming platforms and podcasts, to better understandthe actions of production teams.