Nearly two months after reports surfaced that NBCUniversal and Dick Wolf were looking into rebranding the Oxygen network to show more crime-orientated shows, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the rebranding of the network will be happening this year.
The rebranding will take place during the summer and the programming will be unscripted and will gear more towards young women.
The network has already picked up three shows that will be airing on the network. One of the first is Cold Justice, a drama that used to air on TNT before being canceled. The show hails from Dick Wolf and his production company, Wolf Films.
When news of the rebranding leaked back in December, it was originally reported that Wolf would have an equity stake in the network. However, it’s now being reported that he will just be a content supplier for the network. Wolf already reportedly has more projects lined up for the network.
Other new shows coming to the network include Three Days to Live and The Jury Speaks, which revolves around a jury that took part in a controversial and well-known cases and will examine the cases again.
Frances Berwick, cable entertainment lifestyle networks president, said the network is also looking to acquire syndication rights to different shows. The network already holds rights to NCIS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (the original show in the CSI franchise), but with Wolf being a content supplier, it’s possible that the shows in the Chicago franchise – Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med and the upcoming Chicago Justice – could also find their syndication home there as none of them are syndicated yet and the full seasons aren’t available for streaming on Netflix or Hulu.
However, Berwick said Oxygen is going to have more unscripted shows than scripted shows on the network at this point in time.
Berwick said part of the reason that Oxygen is becoming a crime-focused network is because of the success of Snapped, which has run for 20 seasons over 14 years. She also said that there’s been a ratings increase with young women watching the network during the four-night-a-week crime block, which is another reason they’re rebranding the network.
As for the non-crime-related programming that Oxygen currently has, Berwick said that Bad Girls Club and their newest reality show, Battle of the Ex Besties, will air in the first two quarters of the year, but once the rebranding of the network is complete, it’s unlikely that two the shows will air on the network.