Strictly Business Daily Variety – Tales from Variety’s True Crime Summit at SXSW: Nancy Grace on Kouri Richins, Eva Pilgrim and Producers of ‘Wisecrack,’ ‘Quiet on Set’ and More
Mar 17, 2026
Nancy Grace, former prosecutor turned TV host and true crime commentator, discusses the Corey/Kouri Richins case. Short segments cover comedy-meets-true-crime shows, ethics and responsibilities in production, why fans crave true crime, and the challenges of reporting celebrity cases and building trust with contributors.
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True Crime Endures Because Audiences Crave Answers
- True crime endures because audiences crave answers and resolution amid modern uncertainty.
- Kevin Fitzpatrick framed long-running shows like Evil Lives Here as comforts that offer closure when real cases are unresolved.
Corey Richins Case Exposed By Her Public Grief Tour
- Nancy Grace described Corey Richins poisoning her husband with fentanyl while presenting it as a drug death and then promoting herself as a grief expert.
- Grace noted Richins published a parenting grief book and did TV appearances, which helped expose contradictions that led to conviction.
Convince Broadcasters Slowly When You Mix Comedy And True Crime
- Take risks blending genres to expand audiences, but prepare for skepticism and slow buy‑in from broadcasters.
- Jodi Tove said Wisecrack mixed stand‑up and homicide eyewitness testimony and took years to convince Tenderfoot and iHeart to greenlight it.