The Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church is an insular Christian “cult” that resembles a real-world version of the old-timey religion preached by John Lithgow’s minister in Footloose, complete with denouncements of dancing, rock ‘n’ roll, and immodesty. Far from simply a stuffy conservative faith, however, the IFB is guided by a doctrine—based on strict adherence to the King James Bible—that men rule and women serve. No surprise, then, that this severe and sexist system is apparently a breeding ground for rampant abuse and rape of minors.

Dubbing it “a training ground for pedophiles and serial rapists”—as one voice does in the opening minutes of the show’s first episode—seemingly couldn’t be more accurate. And the only thing more shocking than its male members’ offenses is the fact that, according to ID’s new four-part docuseries, it’s made little effort to conceal them.

Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals (Nov. 24 on ID) rakes the IFB over the coals via both testimonials from a handful of women who’ve spoken out against (and stood up to) the organization, as well as footage of its preachers spewing noxious rhetoric on the pulpit. Of that latter material, perhaps nothing is more stunning than the brazenness of Jack Schaap, chancellor of Hyles-Anderson College, stroking a blade in an explicitly masturbatory fashion while explaining how women should accept their spouse’s punishment: “I hurt, you say, ‘Thank you!’”

It’s a handy encapsulation of the disgusting ethos of the IFB, which was turned into a powerhouse movement by Schaap’s father-in-law Jack Hyles. A fire-and-brimstone fanatic, Hyles is seen in multiple scenes smashing TVs, decrying critics, and blaming women for enticing men with their short skirts and skimpy bathing suits, the latter of which were expressly forbidden.

The IFB’s appeal to a certain type of man is clear: As the heads of society and their households, they have license to behave as they please and to beat any female (wife, daughter, relative) who dares question their authority or, for that matter, says or does anything they dislike. Women, on the other hand, are slaves who live under constant threat of violence and violation (not to mention eternal damnation), and their entire lives are spent being indoctrinated to accept their status as second-class servants.

Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals is a scathing exposé of the movement as a de facto cult that demanded subservience in every way imaginable, including sexually, with pastors—looked upon as unassailable due to their standing as the right hand of God—habitually taking advantage of their positions by molesting and raping young girls and then eliciting their silence with threats of further brutality and exile.

It’s plain to see from Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals that the IFB was created to exploit and mistreat for the gratification of men, yet that perspective isn’t shared by many of the women who are born and raised in its round-the-clock Christian culture.

ID’s docuseries focuses on a collection of such sheltered individuals, beginning with Ruthy Heiler, who at the age of 12 enrolled at Grace Baptist Christian School in Gaylord, Michigan. There, she met teacher and volleyball coach Aaron Willand, who befriended Ruthy’s single mom and enlisted the girl to babysit his children. Inappropriate sexual relations ensued, and though Aaron was subsequently shipped off to Washington state for a different covert infraction with a minor, Ruthy’s clueless mom sent her to visit him to help care for his kids, during which time, at the age of 14, she was repeatedly raped by Willand.

Kathy Durbin’s tale boasts different particulars but the same basic template. Having relocated with her hateful mother and second stepfather to Wildomar, California, she began attending Faith Baptist Church, where she met—and found a surrogate father figure in—assistant pastor Paul Fox. What started as the paternalistic relationship she always craved, however, became a nightmare for the 15-year-old girl, who was soon being constantly raped in Fox’s van. Kathy’s story about how Fox simultaneously earned her trust with a teddy bear and violated it by gifting her lingerie panties is a case study in groomer tactics. Its ugliness is equaled by the additional narratives featured in Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals, be it Amanda Householder’s unthinkable upbringing with parents who ran an IFB academy like a house of horrors, or the separate repugnant ordeals suffered by April Avila and Rachel Peach at the hands of Victor Monteiro—the very pastor hired to replace Fox.

The IFB grants men total power and, when those figures overstep their boundaries by abusing kids, it partakes in what one talking head dubs “the pedophile shuffle,” surreptitiously moving them to other outposts à la the Catholic Church. With intense compassion, Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals lets its speakers (including Nanette Miles) detail this religion’s monstrous beliefs and practices, name its most vile cretins, and point a finger at church superiors—such as Grace Baptist Church’s Jon Jenkins and Faith Baptist Church’s Bruce Goddard—for shielding these criminals and their conduct from children, parents and law enforcement. That those pastors continue to ply their despicable trade speaks to the immense influence they command in their communities and with their flock. And that, in turn, underlines why so few victims during the past half-century have publicly tried to hold the church accountable for its countless wrongs.

Courtesy of its heartrending first-person testimonials and contextual commentary from podcaster Eric Skwarczynski and Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigative reporter Sarah Smith, Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals proves a descent into a very real sort of hell. Nonetheless, it refuses to merely wallow in despair. Depicting Ruthy and her compatriots’ use of social media to band together and spread the word about the IFB, as well as their tireless efforts to pursue legal avenues in order to put their abusers behind bars—endeavors that ultimately pay considerable, if still insufficient, dividends—the docuseries is a moving celebration of courage, camaraderie and the hope and progress that comes from taking a stand.

Their brave actions are nothing short of inspirational, and in fact are so moving that even the proceedings’ overwrought heartstring-tugging (shots of people posing for the camera, slow-motion, swelling music) ultimately feel earned.

The recently released Netflix docuseries Escaping Twin Flames and the upcoming ID series Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals (premiering November 24) have more in common than production company Good Caper Content. Both series explore the issue of high-control groups, often referred to as cults, from different angles. 

Of course, the natures of the groups covered in each series differ distinctly. Let Us Prey (pictured top) follows an investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse within the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Churches, an organization formed in the 1950s that has grown to include some 6,000 churches across the U.S. Escaping Twin Flames (pictured right), meanwhile, shows how the high-control model can function equally as well outside a religious context, in its profile of an online lonelyhearts community run by a pair of influencers who coerced their followers into ever-more extreme behaviors. 

What links these two series apart from their subject matter is the consciously compassionate approach to the victims and survivors of these organizations, centering their experiences and perspectives as they describe how they ultimately extracted themselves (or were extracted from) these groups. This commitment to duty of care is something that Good Caper Content, as the true-crime specialist within ITV America’s label portfolio, seeks to put at the core of all its productions, according to the prodco’s senior VP of development Alison Dammann.

“No two projects are alike,” says Dammann (pictured left), who serves as an executive producer on both Escaping Twin Flames and Let Us Prey. “[On] every single one of them, we take duty of care incredibly seriously. And we really have to tailor our protocols to each and every production and, even within that, each individual participant’s needs.” 

Realscreen spoke with Dammann about the two new series, the appeal of cult-related true-crime stories, and Good Caper’s approach to crime and investigation content. 

The interview below has been edited for clarity and concision.

For stories such as these, how involved does Good Caper get in assisting the victims and dealing with survivors who are still trying to get out of these groups, or are trying to help others get out?

Alison Dammann: It’s a constant dance. It’s honestly kind of hard not to get involved, we become so close to all of the subjects, victims, survivors, and learn so much about their stories. But at the same time, I am a development person, and I really do need to let the filmmakers run things, and they are typically the primary points of contact. [But] it’s something that we’re always talking about, and always thinking about and always aware of.

Escaping Twin Flames and Let Us Prey are obviously quite different projects in some ways, but both are centered on the victims’ perspectives. How important is that for you as a production company?

Dammann: I think that’s the most important piece. Obviously, these documentaries really humanize the victims and the survivors that we work with. I think our goal is for viewers to understand and empathize with these stories. Rather than kind of seeing them as “the Other,” we want people to walk away thinking that they’re just one decision or one external factor away from being in that position themselves. The thing that we really try to keep in mind when we’re telling [these] stories is, how can we show the viewer that, at the end of the day, we’re all susceptible to joining a high-control group?

Crime docs focusing on cults and high-control groups aren’t exactly new, but they do seem to be having a moment right now. What is it about these stories that resonates with viewers?

Dammann: It’s in our nature to search for deeper truth and meaning, especially during times of widespread anxiety and crisis and social turbulence, which, I would say, we are experiencing now and have experienced a lot over the last [few] years. That’s really when we turn to spirituality and existential questioning, and cult-type groups have always popped up during those times because human beings crave connection and belonging and purpose. And now, people who are dabbling in those alternative beliefs are able to find each other more easily than ever online. 

I also think that we’re interested in understanding the psychological and social factors that lead individuals to engage in harmful or destructive behaviors … I don’t know about you, but the idea of submitting to a seemingly greater power, not having to make so many decisions, being able to give up some of the responsibilities — because it feels like there are so many greater responsibilities, there are so many more decisions than ever before, they’re all on our shoulders — it’s incredibly appealing. And I think that’s one of the reasons why these high-control groups have exploded, and people’s attraction to them has exploded, and, in turn, people’ attraction to the subject matter has exploded. 

Are you interested in pursuing more stories like this for doc projects moving forward?

Dammann: Absolutely. I think ultimately, our brand is really focused on telling stories about the human condition, and telling them with integrity and care. It’s not so much about one particular genre, or even subgenre: we are attracted to stories about the human condition, and stories of high-control groups are a perfect example of that. I feel like we have a lot of experience in that space, and it’s been something that we really enjoy. I think empathy is one of our strong suits, and we exercise it very well.

The Twin Flames Universe, a darkly all-consuming YouTube school that claims to help students find their one true love, has gotten the documentary treatment twice in 2023. In October, the three-part Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe told the story of the group and its members. On Nov. 8, Netflix followed suit with Escaping Twin Flames, another three-part docuseries that digs deeper.

The former is largely based on the reporting of Alice Hines, who wrote the Vanity Fair exposé “Inside the Always Online, All-Consuming World of Twin Flames Universe.” The latter includes interviews with investigative journalist Sarah Berman, who first covered the group for Vice.

But Berman isn’t so much the narrator of Escaping Twin Flames—rather, she is one voice among many, including former members of the group, parents of those still within it, and experts on “high-control groups”—who talks in the series about the influence of the Twin Flames Universe and its leaders, Jeff and Shaleia Ayan. Both docuseries feature the stories of former members of the group, and both are careful about not referring to Twin Flames Universe as a “cult,” especially given the litigiousness of the Ayans. 

“In a general statement addressed to the media on its website, TFU denies allegations that it is a cult,” reads a statement at the end of each episode of the Netflix docuseries, “that it improperly profits off students, that it encourages stalking, or that it separates students from their families.”

And yet, in speaking about the group’s “Mind Alignment Process” in the docuseries, Dr. Janja Lalich—an expert on cults and coercion and professor emerita of sociology at California State University—says: “Many groups do this kind of introspective exercise, which they say is there to help you, but it’s actually there to tear apart the self. It’s also a way to separate them from their families, which is one of the goals of most cultic organizations, is they want to isolate you with just their little world.”

Here’s what Escaping Twin Flames Universe covers in three episodes. 

The mothers who want their children back

The primary tool used by the Twin Flames Universe is the “mirror exercise,” in which members are asked to write down a statement about what’s bothering them, invert the pronouns, then assume the blame themselves and “heal” the issue. The Mind Alignment Process (MAP) is, as one former member put it in the series, “like the mirror exercise on steroids.”

“In this meditative state, things are suggestible,” says Elle, one former member. “She suggested there was sexual trauma that happened when I was a kid. To my best belief, I don’t think I’ve ever actually had anything like that in my childhood. It was like a memory that was planted inside of me. The MAP process started the whole process of not really wanting to be around my family, and feeling like they were out to hurt me.”

Twin Flames Universe often quietly pressures its members to cut ties with their families, claiming that family members can’t see the truth or are holding them back. The documentary features some mothers who haven’t heard from their children in years. Louise, the mother of current Twin Flames Universe member Stephanie, was contacted through Reddit by another mother. Now she, Maxine (mother of current member Isaiah), and Debbie (mother of Ray, who recently left) have formed their own community. Working with Louise’s other daughter, Paula (Stephanie’s twin sister), they aim to collect evidence against Jeff and Shaleia Ayan that proves the group is a cult.

Both Isaiah and Ray transitioned gender after joining the Twin Flames Universe. “Out of the blue, my child said, ‘I want you to start calling me by he and him,’” Maxine says. “I asked how long he had felt like this, and he responded, ‘Immediately, when I became a Twin Flame.’”

The pressure to transition gender

As the series shows, the majority of Twin Flames Universe members were straight, cisgender women, and after a while, not many of them had found their perfect match. In Dec. 2019, Jeff and Shaleia “channeled” 20 new Twin Flame pairings within the group itself. 

Twin Flames Universe teaches the existence of a “Divine Masculine” and a “Divine Feminine.” While it may seem outwardly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, the group also believes that, in a “Harmonious Twin Flame Union,” there must be one Divine Masculine and one Divine Feminine person. 

The majority of people who were paired in Dec. 2019 were two women, and half of them were told that they were now actually Divine Masculines. Jeff and Shaleia pressured people to change their names, pronouns, and gender presentations.

“The public statement that you would see in the Twin Flames Universe forum, that Jeff and Shaleia would post, is, ‘We’re not pushing anybody to transition. Whatever that looks like for you is fine,’” former member Victoria says in the show. “But behind closed doors, the messaging was different. It had become a form of conversion therapy.”

Of the former members interviewed in the docuseries, one had begun to transition, then reversed course when she left the group. Another was pressured to transition, then left the group because of it. A former member who left in 2021 said that, before she left, two people had had top surgery.

“It’s not impossible that some of those people who start out in the group as straight cisgender women realize that they happen to be trans,” says Dr. Cassius Adair—a professor at The New School and author of The Transgender Internet—in the series. “But I don’t hear in the testimony of the people in Twin Flames Universe something like, ‘I want to get closer to who I am.’ What I’m hearing them say is, ‘I want to get closer to who I’m supposed to be.’”

“That raises a red flag for me,” he continues. “That doesn’t feel right to me. We don’t want there to be a ‘supposed to be’ about gender. We want gender to be something that you are allowed to discern on your own.”

Where Twin Flames Universe stands now

Though many former members have since left the group, Twin Flames Universe is still running. In April 2019, one member of the group died by suicide. Another former member was encouraged to violate a restraining order from her “Twin Flame” and went to jail.

Jeff began to identify as the second coming of Jesus, and Jeff and Shaleia started the “Church of Union” non-profit umbrella, under which they run multiple for-profit businesses. The couple began to talk about a third “Twin Flame,” their unborn child, Grace, who was born in April 2023, and heralded as something of a messiah.

“I think a lot of it was to distract us from what was happening to us right before our eyes,” former member Keely says in the series. “Jeff was ready to buy a giant, 300-person event hall. And we were to live in a trailer on that property while we renovated it and make a farm. One of the things that was implied when we were supposed to move to Michigan was that we would be having children when we moved there. Jeff and Shaleia said that everyone has the opportunity to have Golden Children, which are children who are already ascended.”

The “Golden Children” would then be twin flames with other “Golden Children.” And couples who could not physically produce a child together would be able to seek sperm donation from another group member—but that member had to be chosen by Jeff. Jeff and Shaleia would decide whether someone was “worthy” of having a child, based primarily on reaching a certain level of income. Jeff and Shaleia also announced that they would be taking 50% of their “Ascension Coaches’” income.

“I hope that people who are watching with horror what Jeff and Shaleia are doing come to realize that you have a lot in common with the trans community, because we as trans people want everyone to have ownership of their own body and be able to present ourselves and find love as who we are,” Adair, the professor, says in the series. “And that’s what Jeff and Shaleia think is a threat to their business model.”

Blumhouse has acquired the screen rights to the viral paranormal story of Deborah and Jessica Moffitt and forthcoming book manuscript, “Mr. Entity: The Moffitt Family Haunting,” Variety can exclusively reveal.

The story of the Moffitt family took audiences by storm after Jessica published a 2022 article detailing their hauntings of a supernatural presence know as “Mr. Entity.” The Moffitts were terrorized by the supernatural spirit from the late 1980s to early 1990s, keeping the affairs under wraps to all those except paranormal experts.

The Moffitt story will be developed for narrative television and film by Blumhouse, which will develop an unscripted series with ITV America’s Good Caper Content through Blumhouse Television.

“Blumhouse is renowned for their storytelling in the paranormal horror space, and we couldn’t ask for better partners to tell our family’s story,” said Deborah and Jessica Moffitt in a joint statement. “We’re excited that this first project, the unscripted series with Blumhouse Television and Good Caper, will allow us to share first-hand accounts of the disturbing events that altered the course of our lives.”

Blumhouse has also obtained the rights to Jessica’s upcoming book manuscript, “Mr. Entity: The Moffitt Family Haunting,” that includes first-hand perspective from herself, Deborah and the rest of the family. The manuscript reveals even more details about the haunting and the family’s background that may uncover connections to their experience.

“The story of Mr. Entity is one of the best examples we’ve seen of truth being stranger than fiction. We’re grateful for the unfettered access that Deborah and Jessica Moffitt have provided us to their stories, and for entrusting us to tell it in rich detail in this first iteration as an unscripted series with our partners at ITV America’s Good Caper Content,” said Chris McCumber, president of Blumhouse Television.

Added Good Caper Content development senior VP Alison Dammann: “The Moffitts’ unique family history and inexplicable experiences offer ample room for exploration. With Good Caper’s background and approach to investigative storytelling, paired with the incomparable team at Blumhouse Television, we feel well-equipped to unravel the complexities of this bizarre and breathtaking story.”

With 2022 having drawn to a close, Realscreen offered industry professionals from around the globe the chance to sound off about the year that was by taking part in our annual, and somewhat irreverent, year-end reader’s survey. We begin our wistful and occasionally whimsical look back with Catalyst founder and executive producer, Julie Bristow (pictured left), and Alison Dammann (pictured right), SVP at Good Caper Content, an ITV America company.

JULIE BRISTOW

My favorite unscripted/non-fiction program of 2022 was:

Small Town Pride — an amazing documentary made by Chelle Turinga and Riley Sparks and supported by CBC Gem and Pink Triangle Press. The doc is an intimate look at the joys and challenges of being queer in a small town. The story takes the viewer to small towns across Canada as they prepare for Pride celebrations.

The program/series/doc people will be talking about in five years is:

Love on the Spectrum.

In 18 months, no one will be talking about:

Impossible to ever predict. Never say never.

The most positive development in the non-fiction/unscripted content industry this past year was:

Meaningful relationship meetings in person, anywhere.

The most troubling development in the non-fiction/unscripted content industry this past year was:

Consolidation.

The idea I wish I thought of was:

Love on the Spectrum.

If 2022 taught me one thing it was:

Evolve. You can’t step back into the same river twice.

The buzzword I don’t want to hear in 2023 is:

“Virtual.”

My New Year’s resolution for 2023 is:

Fewer projects, more meaning.

ALISON DAMMANN

My favorite unscripted/non-fiction program/series of 2022 was:

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey… is it cheating to say one of my own projects? Also, Fire of Love.

The program/series/doc people will be talking about in five years is:

Fire of Love.

In 18 months, no one will be talking about:

Crypto.

The most troubling development in the non-fiction/unscripted content industry this past year was:

I think everyone would agree on the answer to this: consolidation, budget cuts, buying freezes, lay-offs.

The idea I wish I thought of was:

Worst Roommate Ever. Relatable, repeatable, ripe for spin-offs.

My New Year’s resolution for 2023 is:

Drink more water. Sell more shows. Wear less sweatpants.

True-crime network Oxygen has slated Final Moments (8 x 60 min.), a new series from Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment and ITV America’s Good Caper Content, for an April 3 premiere.

Each episode of the series will cover the investigation of a real-life murder or disappearance in which law enforcement used evidence from the victim’s last-known communications or whereabouts — from phone calls with friends or family to cell phone photos or videos, texts or social media posts to security-camera footage — to construct a timeline and try to discover what befell them.

The series will launch on April 3 with back-to-back episodes covering the 2012 disappearance of Florida businessman Charles Butler during a trip home to his native New York City, and the case of Alexis Murphy, a 17-year-old social media star who vanished shortly after a security camera recorded her at a gas station in Lovingston, Virginia in 2013.

“Final Moments dives deep into heartbreaking crimes through the lens of real footage, pictures and the social media of our victims, giving viewers direct insight into their last moments alive,” said Stephanie Steele, SVP of unscripted for NBCUniversal television and streaming. “The series provides authentic investigative access that our viewers will love, in addition to a deeper emotional connection to [the] victims via the unforgettable final moments of their lives.”

Final Moments is produced for Oxygen by Wolf Entertainment and Good Caper Content, who previously collaborated on the two-part doc BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer for A&E Network. Executive producers on the new series are Dick Wolf, Tom Thayer, Kathryn Vaughan, Jordana Hochman and Tim McConville

A&E Network has partnered with hip-hop legend and business mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s Roc Nation for a four-part docuseries that will investigate the conditions within Mississippi’s maximum-security Parchman Prison and the progress of the civil rights lawsuits filed on behalf of the prison’s inmates by Carter (pictured), rapper and entrepreneur Yo Gotti, and Roc Nation’s philanthropic wing Team Roc in 2020.

Produced by Roc Nation, ITV America’s Good Caper Content, and Red Summer for A&E Network, Exposing Parchman (w/t) will delve into the history of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, which acquired the name “Parchman” from its first warden, who also provided the former plantation land on which the prison was situated.

A successful 1971 lawsuit filed by four inmates resulted in a court decision that found the prison culpable of overcrowding its Black inmates, as well as exerting more severe discipline towards them than their white counterparts and practicing racial segregation of inmates, in violation of U.S. law. Despite this, for the last 50 years inmates and their families have continued to draw attention to alleged practices of deprivation and violence against Parchman’s majority Black population, with the December 2019 release of clandestine cell phone footage from within the prison walls sparking the latest lawsuit.

The docuseries will tell the stories of the inmates and their families, as well as document the growing scope of the legal case against Parchman and explore how this one institution is only a particularly glaring example of endemic issues within the U.S. penal system.

“A&E has the privilege to partner with Roc Nation to tell the truly urgent story of Parchman Prison as we continue our commitment to impactful programming,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming for A&E, in a statement. “The series is emblematic of larger issues within the U.S. criminal justice system, and we hope it spurs desperately needed awareness both at Parchman Prison, and nationwide.”

“We are honored to develop this series with A&E, Good Caper and ITV to continue to make sure the atrocities and history of Parchman are top of mind on a national stage,” added Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez.

Exposing Parchman is executive produced for Good Caper Content by Jordana Hochman and Jeanmarie Condon, and for Red Summer by Rahman Ali Bugg. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro and Brad Abramson serve as executive producers for A&E. Worldwide rights to the series will be held by A+E Networks.

EXCLUSIVE: The Twelve Tribes, a controversial religious group and alleged cult that has been engulfed in allegations of abuse, kidnapping and murder, is set to be the subject of a new docuseries.

ITV America’s Good Caper Content has teamed up with journalist Nile Cappello, an exec producer on HBO Max’s docuseries The Way Down about alleged cult leader and diet program founder Gwen Shamblin Lara, for the series.

They will take the project to buyers soon.

The series will center on an investigation launched in 2017 by journalist Shelton Brown, who was hoping to learn more about the religious group behind The Yellow Deli, a restaurant in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. His lighthearted local investigation soon became an obsession to expose what he believes to be a powerful and insidious cult with a long history of predatory recruiting practices. Brown’s years of research and interviews with former and current Twelve Tribes members uncover allegations ranging from child exploitation to medical negligence, racism, sexual abuse, kidnapping and even murder.

Founded in Chattanooga in 1972 by former carnival barker and high school guidance counselor Gene Spriggs, the Twelve Tribes reputes itself as seeking the restoration of what its members believe to be the truest form of Christianity. The organization has grown to more than 3,000 followers who live and work in communal societies across the United States and abroad.

In 2021, Spriggs passed away, leaving the movement without a formal leader and facing an uncertain future. Most recently, a Twelve Tribes property was under investigation in connection with the Marshall Fire, the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history.

Good Caper is behind series including Oxygen’s New York Homicide, A&E’s BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer and Discovery+’s Fruitcake Fraud.

EXCLUSIVE: Toni Rivera, an activist and human-trafficking survivor who has single-handedly rescued more than 1,500 trafficked individuals, is the inspiration for a new unscripted series.

My Wife and Kids star Tisha Campbell, who is the co-lead opposite Lucy Liu in ABC’s Untitled Workplace Comedy pilot from Better with You creator Shana Goldberg-Meehan, and Andrew Jameson, who produced the first season of Starz’ Power, have teamed with ITV America production company Good Caper Content to develop the series.

A victim of trafficking at a young age, Rivera has dedicated her life to helping women and children who have been sexually exploited in the United States. Employing her first-hand knowledge, Rivera works with concerned families across the country to rescue and reacclimatise loved ones who have been victimized. She’s helped more than 2,000 families and survivors within the last three years

The untitled series, which does not yet have a network, will focus on her efforts to reintegrate trafficked individuals into society, using her connections on the street and support from victims’ friends and families to help.

Campbell and Rivera will executive produce the series, alongside Good Caper Content President Kathryn Vaughan and Jameson.

Good Caper Content was set up in 2018 and is focused on crime and investigative programming. Series include TLC’s Taken at Birth and MTV’s True Life: Crime.

“When life hits us hard, sometimes we break,” said Rivera. “We are all broken crayons, yet we all still color. It’s my hope that this new series, and the stories featured, will help people in need across the country come to this realization.”

“After watching an interview with Toni, I immediately reached out to see how I could help her bring awareness to this heartbreaking issue,” said Campbell. “Statistics show that a child is taken by human traffickers every two and a half hours. It’s real and it happens in every community, from Beverly Hills to Harlem, to young women, men and children. Toni shows bravery and resilience while combating this crisis by rescuing individuals from a world she too was part of, and it’s the reason she’s referred to as the ‘modern-day Harriet Tubman.’ It’s an absolute privilege to be able to work with her on this project.”

“Through her work, Toni confronts real danger, encounters devastating loss and faces her own trauma in order to liberate and inspire others,” added Vaughan. “These are the types of stories that Good Caper was created to tell, and we’re honored to collaborate with Toni as she continues on her selfless mission to save lives and restore hope.”

Good Caper Content, the true crime and investigation arm of ITV America, part of ITV Studios, has appointed Alison Dammann as vice president of development.

Dammann (pictured) is based in Los Angeles and reports to Good Caper president Kathryn Vaughan.

She will be working across Good Caper’s slate — which includes TLC’s three-part special Taken at Birth and MTV’s new docuseries True Life: Crime — developing and shepherding a range of projects in the crime and investigation space.

Dammann was previously director of development at Vox Media Studios, where she created and led original projects for Facebook Watch, Sundance TV, YouTube Originals, Participant Media and more. Prior to that, she was director of development at Mashable Studios, helping to launch the media company’s entertainment arm and a slate of original scripted and unscripted series for digital and linear platforms.

She has also held positions at 44 Blue Productions and Critical Content, where she launched her career.

“Alison shares our passion for carefully and authentically telling these often challenging crime and investigative stories, and we’re so excited to welcome her to the Good Caper team,” said Vaughan in a statement.

“Her dexterity and experience across a host of subject matter and content mediums is a massive asset, as we continue to bolster our slate with crime content that broadens and redefines the genre. It’s going to be an exciting road ahead, and we couldn’t be happier to have Alison along for the ride.”

ITV America’s true crime- and investigation-focused production house, Good Caper Content, is firing on all cylinders since its launch just over a year ago.

The company’s latest production, Taken at Birth, premieres tonight (Oct. 9) on Discovery-owned channel TLC, further cementing its brand of programming.

“True crime is definitely a big part of our ethos here at Good Caper, it’s our North Star,” Kathryn Vaughan (pictured), the prodco’s president, tells Realscreen. “That can mean a whole host of subject matter. It doesn’t just have to mean what you think of when you think of true crime traditionally.”

Taken at Birth, which TLC previously announced, tells the story of the more than 200 babies illegally sold or given away from the back steps of a small-town Georgia clinic run by Thomas J. Hicks in the 1950s and ’60s.

The news broke in 1997 that Hicks was alleged to have spearheaded the black-market baby ring. Many of those children, known as the “Hicks Babies,” are still desperately searching for their origins.

“We actually had some great producing partners of ours bring this story back up to our attention a couple of years back,” Vaughan says. “As soon as we had this opportunity to explore and potentially make some headway in giving some of these Hicks Babies answers, it was really a no brainer.”

Jane Blasio (pictured below, center), the youngest of the known babies, leads the investigation with TLC’s Long Lost Family co-hosts Lisa Joyner (right) and Chris Jacobs (left).

The trio team up to investigate lingering questions, reunite families and help the Hicks Babies find closure.

“We’re so lucky to have such incredible producing partners with TLC. They loved the show right from the jump when we brought it to them,” Vaughan says. “Lisa and Chris, who obviously have such a broad range of experience in these incredibly emotional topics, are wonderful with these family members.”

Blasio, Joyner and Jacobs undertake conventional DNA searchers, door-to-door investigations and a mausoleum search. Though, the hosts and the Good Caper team were met with a number of obstacles, namely locating missing family members without any known medical records.

Vaughan adds Good Caper had to be cognizant of the impact the investigation could have on the Hicks Babies, adding another layer of responsibility for producers.

“They’re going through this really incredible journey and incredibly emotional journey by themselves, with their families, however it looks for them, and we’re focusing on that and documenting that for a program, but we’re also living it with them,” she says. “Making TV is really hard, but that makes it even more challenging when you’re always making sure that you’re doing right by the folks that you’re working with.”

Good Caper, with a number of titles now under its belt, is pursuing and producing a wide range of investigative programs, documentaries, limited series and full series.

“We really started pitching last September in full force and I will say, for one year in the books, we all feel really good about where things are heading,” Vaughan says. “We’ve had a lot of success getting projects started with networks that we had great experiences with and then also meeting new networks and starting to target our development for them. There’s really exciting things on the horizon for Good Caper.”

Taken at Birth airs Oct. 9 through Oct. 11 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Vaughan, Bernie Schaeffer and Chaney Moon are executive producers for Good Caper. Executive producers for TLC are Howard Lee, Alon Orstein, Jason Sarlanis, Jennifer Gordon, Gabriela Tavakoli and John Hein.

“We had so much success in season one in bringing people together, which I’m so proud for people to see, but when we think about what could happen after it airs — the possibilities just make us really excited,” Vaughan says. “We hope that a lot of eyeballs tune in and watch the show and that there are even more reunions to come.”