EXCLUSIVE: The murder of DNC employee Seth Rich and the wild conspiracy theories it spawned is the subject of a limited series in development at Sony Pictures Television. Titled #I’m Seth Richthe series inspired by Andy Kroll’s book A Death on W Street: The Murder of Seth Rich and the Age of Conspiracy comes from Kroll et al For life and Without any trace Creator Hank Steinberg. Sony Pictures Television, to which Steinberg and his Channel Road Productions are signed, is the studio.
Written by Steinberg, #I’m Seth Rich chronicles the birth of the modern conspiracy movement that began after the 2016 assassination of DNC operative Seth Rich. As the Rich family seeks justice for their son’s murder, only to find out that his death is being used to create a false counter-narrative affecting almost every aspect of the political machine, they become embroiled in this sprawling story that nearly… every aspect of modern misinformation touches epoch. For years, the Riches have fought in the press and in court to clear their son’s name in this cautionary tale about our future.
Steinberg Executive is producing through its Channel Road Productions as part of its SPT deal. Erwin Stoff also serves as executive producer and Kroll serves as producer.
Rich was murdered in a suspected attempted robbery at 4:20 am on July 10, 2016 in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, a crime that has remained unsolved. Within days, conspiracy theories began to surface on social media linking the murder to the leaked 2016 DNC emails or the FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation. While these theories were debunked by law enforcement, the false narrative was promoted by a number of conservative television personalities that garnered national attention. The Riches eventually filed a lawsuit against Fox News over the station’s reporting, which was eventually settled.
The case was investigated in a documentary format, including an episode of the Netflix docuseries Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies, and the Internet Released earlier this summer.
Kroll is an investigative reporter for ProPublica, where he covers elections, politics and threats to democracy. He is the former Washington bureau chief of Rolling Stone magazine, where he has written extensively on the Seth Rich case. He has also written for Mother Jones, the National Journal, and California Sunday Magazine.
Steinberg has recently created and executive produced drama series For life, which aired for two seasons on ABC. He was also the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the CBS drama series Without any trace, who won multiple Emmys, including one for its star Anthony LaPaglia, and the co-creator/co-showrunner of TNT’s former flagship drama The Last Ship. Steinberg was also the co-creator and showrunner of ABC’s thriller series the nine and the author of FX’s biopic RFK and the HBO movie 61*, for which he was nominated for an Emmy and a WGA Award. Steinberg is repeated by WME.