Every true crime show wants to break the mold, but Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler actually does it.

There’s no shortage of true crime programming, with every show touting that its episodes are “shocking” or its insights “groundbreaking.” Many of those include former professionals turned would-be TV stars, either putting their own past experiences on display or lending their credibility to the proceedings. But most of these series have the same formula: leaning into melodrama while offering very little real insight, sometimes even repeating cases from other shows, with personalities who are largely interchangeable. Yet anyone who’s seen Cold Justice knows that Kelly Siegler is a hard woman to forget, and Oxygen and Wolf Entertainment have finally banked on that by giving her a solo platform.

But this is not a Kelly Siegler vanity project; rather, it’s a show that has Kelly Siegler’s ethos all over it. There’s no trotting out her bonafides, no overly dramatic music or camera work, no promoting the case of the week as the most important thing ever. As on Cold Justice, Kelly acts as a more than capable guide creating a through-line for the audience, but she is not the center of attention. She lets the complexities of the case carry the show and in true Kelly Siegler fashion, just gets on with it. Her no-nonsense approach is even felt in the structure; the premiere episode makes clear off the top why the case is worth viewers’ time—and it’s not the shock value.

That immediately separates Prosecuting Evil from its many competitors. While it’s a more traditional true crime series than Cold Justice, following the same process of tracking a crime from start to finish, it brings something legitimately new to a genre that’s gotten far too comfortable. And if there’s anyone who can shake things up, it’s Kelly Siegler; the premiere episode delves into a case where she used tactics that were incredibly controversial. If the show exists because Kelly can draw an audience, it works because she has meaningful things to say.

Just because someone is an experienced attorney or detective doesn’t make them a good TV personality; there has to be some distinction that makes them worth listening to. That’s on full display in Prosecuting Evil‘s first hour, which establishes the show will rely on the standard “talking head” interviews. (Fans of The First 48 will get a kick out of seeing Sgt. Mark Reynolds, who was one of the Harris County officers featured on the A&E series.) Some of the sound bites add very little to the picture, which may frustrate viewers who read the show’s title and expect more focus on the legal process. But when Kelly cuts in to offer commentary or even when the defense attorneys add their perspective, it’s engaging. The subjects in Prosecuting Evil aren’t playing for TV as they do on some other shows; it’s as if Kelly set the tone.

And when Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler actually gets to the prosecuting part, there’s nothing else like it. For Cold Justice fans, it’s fantastic to watch more footage of Kelly’s career in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and see what a formidable attorney she was. The series also gives specific insight into what it takes to be a prosecutor. It’s not simply standing around in a courtroom talking. This is the first true crime show that explores the full range of what an attorney does professionally and what they face emotionally. There’s a brief moment in the opening of the premiere where Kelly recounts people criticizing her to her own daughter—years after the case in question. That kind of scrutiny and emotional impact is not something often covered in true crime and if it’s in a scripted show, it’s usually glossed over. TV viewers know a lot about what detectives face, but they don’t really understand prosecutors or even defense attorneys, and this could be the show to change that.

The appeal of true crime is separating fact from fiction. It’s seeing something different than audiences get in procedurals. No one knows crime procedurals better than Wolf Entertainment, which produces three of TV’s biggest franchises (Law & Order, One Chicago and FBI). It would be easy for them to transpose their template onto unscripted, especially when the whole genre has turned into a formula. But they’ve instead let this new series be shaped around its namesake, and the result is a show that’s as unique as Kelly Siegler.

Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler premieres Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Oxygen.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.