Airdate: Smiley Face Killers / Mark of a Killer

hayu has two new true crime series Smiley Face Killers and Mark of a Killer screening same day as US.

Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice

The series follows an active private investigation spearheaded by retired NYPD Detective Kevin Gannon and his veteran team of investigators as they work with victims’ families and top forensic experts to further investigate and question that the country’s most notorious string of mysterious, accidental drownings aren’t accidents, but homicides; and they could all be connected to a larger theory of The Smiley Face Killers.

Since 1997, hundreds of college-aged men have mysteriously drowned after a night out drinking with friends. Their bodies have been found in clusters around the country, and the victims are eerily similar – they’re all athletic, academic achievers. In addition, near where many of the bodies are recovered is one distinct mark: graffiti of a smiley face.

Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice follows retired NYPD Detective Kevin Gannon and his team of investigators: Anthony Duarte, Mike ‘Mikey’ Donovan and D. Lee ‘Doc’ Gilbertson; who have dedicated the past 12 years of their retirement to finding justice for these cases. All of the drownings have been individually classified as accidental or undetermined and have not been investigated as possibly related crimes. There are grieving families of these young men who are convinced that there is something more sinister at play, and desperately search for answers with Gannon and the team. Their goal is to gather enough evidence to convince local authorities to reclassify and investigate these deaths as homicides. Only then can the team attempt to establish a possible connection between these deaths to further their theory that the young men are victims of a calculated group known as The Smiley Face Killers.

Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice is produced by 44 Blue Productions, a Red Arrow Studios company, and indie studio Blumhouse Television with Rasha Drachkovitch, Jason Blum, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold and Leane Vandeman serving as executive producers and Julie Merson and Mary Lisio serving as co-executive producers.

Sunday January 20 on hayu

Mark of a Killer

Behaviors, postmortem rituals and crime scene souvenirs are examined in this new six-part crime series.

Some killers are collectors who obtain perverse gratification by habitually stealing mementos from murder scenes, from jewellery to shoes, keys to even body parts. These clues are left to taunt law enforcement and investigators while simultaneously building up their notoriety. Whether it’s text scrawled onto the victim’s body, a cryptic note or a way of positioning the deceased, what is left behind is a trademark clue that ultimately aids the investigation in stopping these murders and bringing the killer to justice.

Each hour-long episode of Mark of a Killer follows the story of an investigation guided by the killer’s postmortem signature and features first-hand accounts from detectives who worked on the cases, interviews with criminal psychology experts and with family members and friends of the victims. The premiere episode dives into the infamous Gainesville Ripper who helped ring in a new school year at the University of Florida in 1990 with a string of murders, posing his victims in grotesque ways and cutting their clothes from their bodies. These trademarks are at the center of each tale, and prove to be crucial factors in identifying the killers and ending their reign of terror.

Mark of a Killer is produced by Motiv8 Media and Jarrett Creative with Kara Kurcz serving as Executive Producer for Motiv8 Media. Seth Jarrett and Julie Insogna Jarrett serve as Executive Producers for Jarrett Creative. Brian Lee & Wendy Greene also serve as Executive Producer.

Monday, January 21, on hayu.