'Surviving Jeffrey Epstein' Feature Confirmed at Lifetime; Summer Premiere To Take Place

Lifetime is finally moving ahead with the documentary, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein that was in development since last summer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network is set to air a four-hour investigative documentary about the convicted sex offender, who died in prison in August shortly after he was handed new federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. Surviving Jeffrey Epstein officially mints “Surviving” as something of a franchise at Lifetime, following its Emmy-nominated series Surviving R. Kelly and follow-up Surviving R. Kelly II: The Reckoning.

Planned for summer premiere, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein will examine the billionaire New York financier who allegedly used his power and connections to shield his predatory behavior with young girls.

“A serious story requires journalists behind it," A+E Networks boss Paul Buccieri told THR of the project in August. "It's about finding the right people that have the expertise to tell the right story, especially stories that we believe are important. You can have two pieces of content going out at the same time and one can be much more elevated than the other.”

A number of projects about Epstein have been in the works since his 2019 arrest, though much coverage now focuses on the circumstances around his death — which was ruled a suicide. At the start of the year, 60 Minutes devoted a segment to questions around the death and his autopsy.

Elsewhere in the documentary, Lifetime announced that it’s partnering with Elizabeth Smart of a series of hour-long specials looking into tragic crimes. Smart Justice will find the child abuse advocate, a survivor of harrowing teenage abduction, interviewing victims and family members and going through real case evidence.