A&E Television VP Laura Fleury: Crime 360

Laura Fleury

LAURA FLEURY
Vice President, Non-Fiction and Alternative Programming
A&E/BIO Channel/Crime & Investigation Network

Laura Fleury is Vice President of Non-Fiction and Alternative Programming at A&E Network. In this position, she plays a senior role in the development and production of nonfiction series and specials for A&E, Bio Channel and The Crime & Investigation Network. She has developed, launched and currently serves as Executive Producer for many of A&E’s most critically-acclaimed and top-rated series including MANHUNTERS: FUGITIVE TASK FORCETM and CRIME 360TM (both tied as the #1 justice series launches in network history) and PARKING WARSTM, all of which launched in 2008, the SWAT franchise launched in 2006, and THE FIRST 48TM, which launched in 2004 and is the top-rated nonfiction crime series in cable. She is currently developing a number of pilots for 2009. She also has developed and executive-produced new series for The BIO Channel, including the top-rated series in the history of the BIO Channel, I SURVIVED…TM, and THE INTERROGATORSTM which will launch in 2009. She has developed and produced numerous specials for AETN including First Person Killers, Miami City Vice, Bill Kurtis Special Reports, the A&E IndieFilms project Abused (short-listed for the Academy Awards), and Miami Manhunt.

In her previous roles as Senior Director, and prior to that, Director, Documentary Programming at A&E Network, she developed, launched and executive-produced several documentary series and specials to ratings and critical acclaim including 2-time Emmy-nominated Cold Case FilesTM, Minute-by-Minute, American Justice, Parole Board, Investigative Reports, Makeover Mamas, The Real Story, The Point and The Hunt. Awards include the Thurgood Marshall Journalism Award in 2002, and numerous Emmy nominations. Prior to that, Ms. Fleury served as a Supervising Producer for a number of A&E’s documentary specials and series, including A&E’s very first ‘real-life series’, LA Detectives, as well as Biography®, The New Explorers, Sea Tales, Treasure!, The Unexplained, Inside Story, The Planets and One-on-One with David Frost among others. Prior to joining A&E, Ms. Fleury worked in independent film production on scripted and unscripted films, including the award-winning documentaries BROTHER’S KEEPER and PARADISE LOST.

Crime 360

CRIME 360 premiered on A&E in March of this year. We specifically developed this show to build on the success of our ground-breaking hit series, THE FIRST 48, by evolving the genre again with CRIME 360 which brings real present-tense criminal investigations and cutting edge-forensic technology and high-end computer graphics together for the first time on television.

In each episode viewers experience the investigations first-hand with detectives and forensic specialists from around the country as they work to solve their cases with the added tool of state-of-the-art 3D laser scanners in their arsenal. These scanners allow investigators to measure, model and diagram crime scenes with great detail, precisely preserving the original scene so they can revisit it as they test out various theories and test evidence against it. We follow each investigation from beginning to end, unlike any other present tense show, so from the moment detectives are called to the scene, viewers are part of the investigation through until the end.

CRIME 360 is also revolutionary in the way it uses 360-degree digital photography and computer-generated imagery (CGI) visualizations to allow the viewer to experience these unfolding investigations, the evidence, and the detectives’ evolving theories in ways never seen before on television.

We were thrilled with the reception of the show’s inaugural season — it was the #1 justice series launch in the history of the network. Fans seemed to really appreciate how CRIME 360 takes real-life law enforcement programming to the next level-combining real investigations with real cutting-edge technology. Today, we’re releasing the first season on DVD.

Whether or not you saw the episodes when they were first aired the DVD set will get you ready for the premiere of season two.

By the way, episodes are also available for download on iTunes.

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You can visit Crime 360’s website here.

Be sure to visit The Graveyard Shift on Saturday December 20 and Sunday December 21 to see how you can win a DVD of Crime 360’s entire first season! This is so important I’m skipping Weekend Road Trip this week.

10 replies
  1. joeschmoe1
    joeschmoe1 says:

    I just watched an episode of this show that supposedly deals with technical aspects of crime solving, and it is a big disappointment. The story involved a party gone bad in Indianapolis where somebody was murdered with an AK-47.

    Later in the episode, the police found an “AK 47” and got their “expert” to test fire it in order to compare shell casings. though he threw around some impressive terminology, it quickly became apparent that this ass-clown of an expert barely knew which end of the barrel the bullet came out of.

    Any kid who played even half an hour of todays video games could tell you the gun they found wasn’t an AK, but an SKS dressed up to look like one with a cheap plastic folding stock. The SKS shoots the same ammo, but it is not an AK and the bigshot expert either didn’t notice or didn’t comment on this. Later, he admits that the shell casings didn’t match those of the AK used in the crime scene. Well, duh.

    Nest, the computer graphics kicked in to show the viewer the cross section of an AK being fired. Though the graphics looked good, neither the artist nor the editors knows much about an AK. The back of the CG-rendered shell casing read “7.62 NATO” Again, any occasional viewer of the history channel can tell you that no Warsaw-pact weapon fires this round. The AK fires 7.62×39, also known as 7.62 Russian. Hint: Russia is not and never has been a member of NATO so this should have been a clue to someone in the editing room over at A&E. Crime 360 gets an F in basic history as well as forensic ability of the purported expert investigators.

    The first 48 is a much better show, and when it comes to forensics TruTV has much better offerings.

  2. Peg H
    Peg H says:

    I love the show! It’s one of my ‘if DH wants to watch something else at that time it MUST be taped shows’ so I can watch it later. I try to never miss an episode.

  3. SZ
    SZ says:

    Boy you leave for one week of family Christmas [think Mum with no internet] and Lee rolls out all the best in blogs ! I do not own a television so always have to wait for shows to be on DVD.

    Not sure I understand watching a person get a parking ticket.

    Lots to read here for the last week. Looked like a good one.

  4. Lee Lofland
    Lee Lofland says:

    MW – I’m sure the folks at A&E appreciate the praise.

    Part of the Crime 360 series is filmed in Richmond, Va. I did a bit of undercover work there back in the day. In those days departments traded undercover officers for brief periods of time to present fresh faces to the drug dealers.

    It seems odd to see some the places where I worked. In those days Richmond had the highest homicide rate per capita in the nation.

    Terry – I think Florida law enforcement is going to have plenty of evidence to convict Casey Anthony without using anything more technical than they’ve already employed.

  5. MysteryWriter
    MysteryWriter says:

    I love Crime 360. First episode I saw hooked me right away. Thank you, Lee for always sharing the best of the best on your blog. Glad to see you’re up and about.

  6. Terry
    Terry says:

    Maybe hubby will skip some of the constant Law & Order reruns and start watching this. It’s the special effects – which I now know are called CGI, so thanks– that make him watch CSI. (ok, and the cleavage)

    The CD set would be great — I never have time to watch TV when it’s ON TV, and we’re Luddites in the DVR department, although we still have a functioning VCR.

    Lliving in Orlando, right now everything is Caylee Anderson. I wonder how this technology might be used in that case.

  7. Lee Lofland
    Lee Lofland says:

    This is a great time to ask questions about A&E Television’s crime shows. Either Ms. Fleury or someone from the network will be happy to respond. It may take a while due to various meetings and appointments, but I’ve been assured someone will answer your questions.

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