Smithsonian Channel will mix forensics, true crime, and well-known names in its new series The Curious Life and Death of… Hosted by famed medical historian Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris, the show performs post-mortem examinations on some of the most puzzling deaths in history. The six-part series will premiere on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 9 p.m. ET.
“Whether its 90s icon Brittany Murphy, Rolling Stone founder Brian Jones, or axe-murderess Lizzie Borden, the lives of these fascinating individuals are revealed through tests, investigation and autopsies as medical historian, Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris provides a curious and sometimes macabre glimpse into a biography from the morgue,” according to the press statement.
Over the run of the season, a revolving cast of experts, including Scotland Yard detectives, medical examiners, and weapons gurus will probe the mysterious death of Harry Houdini and the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. The team will also attempt to identify a tiny body, “the Unknown Titanic Child,” rescued from the icy Atlantic.
The premiere episode gets to the bottom of a crime which became so much part of the American consciousness, it became a nursery rhyme. “Lizzie Borden was put on trial for the murder of her father and step-mother, but did she commit these brutal crimes?” asks the official synopsis. Using forensic examination with a fresh modern approach Dr Lindsey Fitzharris and her team of experts will unravel the mysterious deaths.
The Curious Life and Death of… “A Rolling Stone” premieres Sept. 13. “Rockstar Brian Jones drowned in his pool whilst under the influence of alcohol and drugs though many speculated a more sinister reason behind his death,” according to the official synopsis. The team attempts to “unpick curious details that have recently come to light.”
The medical historian and her experts try to determine the identity of a tiny body rescued from the icy Atlantic Ocean when the Titanic went down on “A Titanic Channel,” which premieres Sept. 20. “Heroic sailors, a morgue ship, a twisting turning DNA mystery and a fascinating process of elimination to find the identity of the Unknown Titanic Child,” reads the official synopsis.
“Brittany Murphy” premieres Sept. 27. After actress Brittany Murphy dies at 32 in her Hollywood home, her husband Simon dies months later of the same circumstances. Coincidental or evidence of something more sinister? Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris and her team explore the final moments of these curious deaths.
Dr. Fitzharris and her team delve into the “baffling hospital death from a burst appendix of the legendary escapologist” in “Harry Houdini,” which premieres Oct. 4. “How did a punch to the stomach, a suspiciously large insurance claim by his wife, food poisoning and Spiritualist’s plots add up to the mysterious death of Houdini,” the synopsis asks.
In “Pablo Escobar,” which premieres Oct. 11, the team probes the “gunning down of the most infamous drug lord of all time,” according to the synopsis. “But who fired the killshot? Colombian special forces, a rival death squad, or an unknown sniper? Escobar’s own son offers a shocking candidate for whose finger was on the trigger.”
The Curious Life and Death of… premieres Sunday, Sept. 6 at 9 p.m. ET.
