Plot Synopsis

Based on Lauren Collins' 2022 "New Yorker" article, "The Unravelling of an Expert on Serial Killers," KILLER LIES: CHASING A TRUE CRIME CON MAN is a three-part documentary that tracks Collins' investigation into the rise and fall of a provocative French serial killer expert, Stephane Bourgoin, who built an international reputation for his extraordinary resume of jailhouse interviews, personality quirks, and morbid encounters. Bourgoin cited the violent and horrifying 1976 slaying of his wife by a serial killer as motivation for his relentless interest in the minds of murderers. After 40 years and 40 books, he becomes the target of a group of online sleuths, known as 4eme Oeil Corporation (4th Eye), who try to untangle his web of lies and unearth the truth. The series fully reveals their dogged investigation and the shocking extent of Bourgoin's deception for more than 30 years. It features exclusive access to 4th Eye members speaking for the first time on camera in a documentary, along with material from Bourgoin's own films and past television appearances and forensically re-examined archival footage. Viewers hear from those closest to Bourgoin for an intimate peek inside a pathological liar's mind as well as hear from Bourgoin himself in his most comprehensive sit-down interview discussing his motives for fabricating such grandiose lies. Directed by filmmaker Ben Selkow, the entire three-part thriller debuted on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 from 8-11pm ET/PT on National Geographic Channel:

"Murder, He Wrote" (8pm): Stephane Bourgoin's success as a world-renowned serial killer expert progressed alongside the rise of serial killers in America and the explosive growth of the lucrative true-crime industry. But when the 4th Eye, a collective of vigilante online sleuths, embarks on an investigation into his life and work, they discover his career was based on a series of dark lies.

"The Eye Is Always Watching" (9pm): Anchored by reporting from The New Yorker's Lauren Collins, we follow the dramatic twists and turns of Stephane Bourgoin's story. As his career continues to flourish, the 4th Eye's hunt for the truth reveals that something far darker lies beneath the surface of his fame. The online sleuths work to stop him before more damage is done.

"The Reckoning" (10pm): As the mysteries of Bourgoin's past reveal the seeds of his dark obsessions, Lauren Collins continues investigating many alarming unanswered questions. We hear from the victims in this story and delve into the larger themes and questions raised about our insatiable appetite for true crime and the strange compulsions of the human psyche.

KILLER LIES: CHASING A TRUE CRIME CON MAN streams on Hulu the following day on Thursday, August 29, 2024.