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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 4 February 2017
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TV’s Oxygen network to focus on crime stories

the past year with a prime- Veteran producer Dick Oxygen is also launching
time block of crime-orient- Wolf is behind the upcom- its own podcast, “Martinis
ed programming on three ing series, “Cold Justice,” and Murder,” that delves
nights, recently increas- which features former pros- into the details surrounding
ing it to four. That helped ecutor Kelly Siegler and a murder cases.
Oxygen to a 42 percent team of detectives as they “This is definitely a moment
increase in viewers dur- try to solve real-life crime where people are interest-
ing the last three months cases across the country. ed in solving crimes them-
of 2016 compared to the Wolf’s series will start this selves,” Berwick said. She
same period a year earlier, fall, along with “The Jury said Oxygen believes it is a
the Nielsen company said. Speaks,” which examines genre with enough differ-
Crime stories are easily noted criminal cases as ent stories and ways to tell
found onscreen now, from seen through the eyes of them that interest won’t be
the dramas on CBS’ prime- the jury that decided them. soon exhausted.q
time lineup to Investigation
This Aug. 2, 2016 file photo shows executive producer Dick Discovery, probably the
Wolf participating in the “Chicago Med” panel during the NBC most successful cable net-
Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, work launch in some time.
Calif.
Associated Press Frances Berwick, president
of lifestyle networks for NBC
Universal Cable, said Oxy-
DAVID BAUDER Oxygen’s saga speaks to gen will take cues from the
AP Television Writer the survival pressures faced successful podcast “Serial”
NEW YORK (AP) — The Oxy- by many cable networks. and Netflix’s “Making a
gen television network is NBC Universal recently de- Murderer” in finding stories
looking behind bars for in- cided to shutter its Esquire that viewers can follow to
spiration. network and make it digi- guess the outcome of true
The NBC Universal-owned tal-only. When Oxygen’s crime stories.
network said Wednesday launch was announced in “We felt like we could do
that starting this summer, it 1998 with prominent back- that in a different way
will focus its programming ers that included Oprah than there is currently out
on crime stories that ap- Winfrey, the goal was to there, one that appeals to
peal to women, joining an make it a general inter- a younger demographic,”
already crowded televi- est network for women to Berwick said.
sion genre. compete with Lifetime, In March, Oxygen will pre-
Its other programming, only hipper. miere a new series, “Three
such as “Bad Girls Club” The change won’t be com- Days to Live,” focusing on
and “Battle of the Ex-Bes- pletely abrupt. Oxygen the stories of women who
ties,” will be phased out. has seen success during have been abducted.

Amber Valletta pens op-ed

against EPA nominee Scott Pruitt

NEW YORK (AP) — Okla-
homan, model, actress,
mother and Sierra Club
ambassador Amber Val-
letta is “worried sick” about
her home state’s attor-
ney general leading the
Environmental Protection
Agency and said as much
in an op-ed piece released
Friday on Glamour.com
The nomination of Scott
Pruitt moved late Thursday
to the full Senate. He could
be confirmed as early as
next week.
“Time and again, rather
than work to protect ordi- This Jan. 12, 2016 file photo shows Sierra Club Ambassador,
nary Oklahomans, he has model, actress and Oklahoma native Amber Valletta at the
Stella McCartney Autumn 2016 Presentation in Los Angeles.
consistently defended fossil Associated Press
fuel corporations instead,”
Valletta wrote. “Scott Pruitt about it. My fear is that ple who live in it.”
has spent his entire time in we are losing sight of how Valletta has been an ad-
office attacking the EPA.” much we depend on the vocate for environmental
She added: “As a mom, EPA to protect not just our awareness through her
though, I am worried sick environment but the peo- work with the Sierra Club.q