Forensic Files II is an American true crime documentary series as both a sequel and revival of Forensic Files. Broadcast by HLN for its first three seasons, its fourth season was broadcast by sister network Investigation Discovery. The series has been promoted as a separate continuation of the franchise to differentiate it from the original series, with Bill Camp succeeding Peter Thomas as narrator. The series premiered on February 23, 2020, with a 16-episode first season. On May 12, 2020, the series was renewed for a second and third season. The second season premiered on July 11, 2021, followed by the third on February 27, 2022, and the fourth on July 9, 2023. Afterwards, the show was put on hiatus and has not returned with any new episodes as of 2026.
Development The last episode of the original Forensic Files series ("Expert Witness") originally aired on June 17, 2011. After the 2016 death of Forensic Files narrator Peter Thomas, the show's executive producer Paul Dowling ruled out the possibility of reviving the series, as he considered Thomas to be "irreplaceable". In October 2019, it was announced that the show would be revived with new episodes to air first-run on HLN in early 2020, with Bill Camp later announced as the new narrator.
Production The revival was clarified as being the first season of a new show, rather than the 15th season of Forensic Files, explained by series producer Nancy Duffy as having been done to "differentiate the new episodes from those that came before". Duffy explained: "When we talked about bringing back Forensic Files, a lot of people thought we just meant that we were gonna be [airing] old shows that we didn't previously air on HLN and there seemed to be a confusion about that, so [we changed the title so] there could be no confusion." Series creator Paul Dowling confirmed on Twitter that Forensic Files II was a new, separate show from the original Forensic Files.
Ownership and distribution In 2024, Content Partners LLC, a company focused on film and television intellectual property, acquired the catalog of the original series Forensic Files, including 400 episodes, as well as international distribution rights to Forensic Files II. Following the acquisition, Content Partners announced several licensing and distribution initiatives related to the series. In 2025, the company announced a licensing agreement with NBCUniversal's Oxygen network to bring Forensic Files to the channel. Content Partners also announced plans to adapt 15 episodes of Forensic Files into a vertical video format through GammaTime and partnered with FilmRise to update episodes of the original series in high definition using artificial intelligence technology.
Event reenactments Unlike in the original Forensic Files program, actors were not hired to participate in reenactments of the cases dramatized in Forensic Files II. Instead, various employees of CNN and HLN were utilized to portray victims, suspects, and other individuals for dramatic recreations of real life events. Series producer Nancy Duffy explained that the reenactments are filmed in a more "impressionistic" way than in the original series, so that the individuals used in the recreations "don't have to look identical" to the people they are portraying. As a result, faces are not shown in the recreations in the first season, only bodies from the neck down. The second season occasionally shows faces similar to the people involved in the depicted events with the camera out of focus. Duffy elaborated that employees would approach her and ask to participate in the reenactments, saying that many were "excited" at the prospect of portraying individuals involved in killing, hiding, kidnapping, or the use of physical restraint.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2020) The series premiere began with two back-to-back new episodes on February 23, 2020 beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. Two new episodes aired back-to-back each Sunday, with the final episode of the first season airing on April 12, Easter Sunday.
Season 2 (2021) Like the first season, this season began with two back-to-back new episodes on July 11, 2021 beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Season 3 (2022) This season began with two back-to-back new episodes on February 27, 2022 beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. After a five month hiatus, the season resumed with two back-to-back new episodes on July 31, 2022 beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Season 4 (2023) This season began with a move to a new network Investigation Discovery
References
External links Official website Forensic Files II at IMDb