Hilarie Burton Morgan hosting six-part true crime series for SundanceTV

Are you a fan of true crime shows or true crime stories in general? Hilarie Burton Morgan, who you know from shows like One Tree Hill, The Walking Dead, and Friday Night in with The Morgans, is hosting a powerful and captivating new series this September that spotlights murder cases from small towns across America in a true crime franchise called True Crime Story: It Couldn’t Happen Here. The show will debut on September 9 at 10/9c on SundanceTV and AMC+.

Burton Morgan is the perfect person to host this series as she is a small town native herself. In each episode of this six-part series, the actress will chat with family members and local insiders as she explores various cases and some of the unique challenges presented by small-town justice.

Like the show’s title suggests, sometimes it’s easy to get lured into a false sense of security in rural areas outside of the big city. An entire subgenre of television focuses on how “it’s a small town, nothing bad can happen here,” but of course, that’s unfortunately not true.

It Couldn’t Happen Here investigates the distinctive ways that crime these insular communities and their judicial systems. Often these events get overlooked because they lack the advocacy resources and national media attention that larger cities receive.

Throughout this show, Burton Morgan will try to understand these obstacles and investigate the lasting impact crime has had on the fabric of each town.

The second series in the franchise, True Crime Story: Indefensible, will premiere right after this show’s finale on Thursday, October 14 at 11/10c. Indefensible will be hosted by Jena Friedman of The Daily Show fame.

True Crime Story: It Couldn’t Happen Here: Burton Morgan discusses her reasons for doing the show

While chatting to Deadline, Burton Morgan talked about the show:

"“Advocating for small towns has been the primary focus of my adult life, whether it’s fighting for mom and pop shops, or public schools or facilities like Astor Services. I believe deeply in the value of these small communities. Last year, my husband and I were able to team with the AMC family to shed light on a number of the struggles our community was facing during Covid, as we had local friends and neighbors from the Hudson Valley on as guests for our show Friday Night In with the Morgans. Continuing my relationship with the AMC family at SundanceTV and digging deeper into the issues that are specific to small towns is a mission that I’m honored to be part of.”"

It Couldn’t Happen Here premieres on September 9 at 10/9c on SundanceTV and AMC+. Indefensible premieres on October 14 at 11/10c right after the season finale.