If Paramount+ wants to make it in the streaming wars, it can’t ignore the fact that there is a huge audience for true-crime docuseries. That’s why the streamer is coming in hot with Ghislaine – Partner in Crime, a four-part docuseries that premieres this week. The series centers around Ghislaine Maxwell, a socialite who was deeply involved with Jeffrey Epstein’s schemes on sex trafficking and abuse. After his conviction, Epstein was considered one of history’s worst sex offenders.
The trailer reveals that the docuseries has a bigger focus on Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial – an event that brought its own share of plot twists into the story. Not that the plot isn’t surprising enough: Maxwell led a very active social life that put her in close and frequent contact with high society members such as billionaires, politicians and even royalty. That’s why it was so hard for people to believe Maxwell was involved in a crime so dark and cruel, and the verdict still daunts her family and friends to this day.
The docuseries will also feature interviews with Maxwell’s siblings, victims, and legal experts, as well as highlight the 180-turn that Ghislaine’s trail took when a particular member of the jury – Juror #50 – decided to speak up about sexual abuse. He single-handedly made the other members of the jury realize that the victims' accounts of the crime were fuzzy for a reason. Maxwell was convicted in late 2021 on five counts, including sex trafficking of minors. Her sentence is yet to be announced, but it is expected she’ll serve as long as 65 years in prison.
When talking about the docuseries, president of See It Now Studios production company Susan Zirinsky revealed that the project found its footing in exploring the controversies in Maxwell’s life:
“’Ghislaine – Partner in Crime’ paints a vivid picture of Maxwell’s privileged yet turbulent lifestyle, from the parties and the A-list friendships to the trial. This docuseries explores her own family’s ability to cope with adversity, and asks how this woman, who seemed to have it all, risked it all to help Jeffrey Epstein.”
Check out the official synopsis here:
In an intimate portrait of the infamous partner to Jeffrey Epstein, this four part series explores the central question in Ghislaine Maxwell's trial - how deeply was she involved in the sex trafficking ring that abused hundreds of women and girls, and how did the former socialite become the accomplice to one of the worst sex offenders in history?
Paramount+ premieres Ghislaine – Partner in Crime on April 7. You can watch the trailer for the docuseries below: