The team behind the true crime podcast Proof made headlines this month for helping uncover evidence that led to the overturning of the murder convictions against two Georgia men. Red Marble Media will leverage that success, announcing it is planning a second season of Proof in April. The New York-based production company says Proof’s first season is also being developed into a multi-part series for television.
The 17-episode first season of Proof focused on the story of Cain Joshua Storey and Darrell Lee Clark, who were convicted of the murder of Brian Bowling when they were teenagers in 1996. Initially ruled an accidental death due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a succession of misinformation and procedural mishaps, including the mishandling of evidence and witness coercion lead to Storey and Clark being sentenced to life in prison.
Producers Susan Simpson and Jacinda Davis spent over a year investigating the case, posting their findings in Proof episodes in real time. Among those listening to the show were attorneys at the Georgia Innocence Project and attorneys in Rome, GA who took the evidence uncovered by Simpson and Davis back to the Floyd County Courthouse and initiated the proceedings leading to Clark and Storey’s exonerations. They were released on December 8 after serving 25 years in prison.
"When we began investigating this case for our first season of Proof, I could never have imagined where this story would end up taking us. Or that it would take 17 episodes to cover all the twists and turns that our investigation uncovered,” said Simpson. “It was amazing to see Lee and Cain walk out of prison and to hear from thousands of our listeners about how thrilled they were when they got the news about their release.”
Coming from television, Davis says podcasting was a new experience. “There isn’t the months of filming and editing in advance. This is literally a real-time investigation and it lends to the authenticity of the story,” she said. “We took a cameraman along on nearly every interview and location so we have the makings of an incredible series for broadcasters [or] streamers.”
Ahead of the TV adaptation, the show is planning to release a final follow-up episode for the podcast’s first season documenting the exoneration of Storey and Clark in an episode to be released on Monday (Dec. 19).
Since Proof’s role in the exit of two men from prison made nightly newscasts, the show has seen a spike in listening to its first season with the show rising into the Apple Podcast top ten. “I couldn’t be more excited about the outcome of this series,” said Red Marble Media founder Kevin Fitzpatrick, who was Executive Producer for the first season. “When, as producers, do we get to say what we created made a real difference in peoples’ lives? Thanks to Jacinda and Susan’s incredible diligence and investigative work two men have been exonerated for a crime they didn’t commit. It’s engaging storytelling with an inspiring, real-life outcome.”
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