Plot Synopsis

PAYBACK is a one-hour docuseries that examines shocking crimes, focusing on those who've crossed the line to seek the ultimate revenge. Whether it's a cheating ex, a double-crossing co-worker, or the best friend who stabbed you in the back, it's human instinct to want to get even. Though most of us don't act on this impulse, there are those among us who are consumed by "getting even". And for them, what starts as a nagging bitterness evolves into obsession...and results in the ultimate payback...murder. Sometimes these are cold, calculated attacks. Other times they are spontaneous acts of vengeance born in the heat of the moment. The series opener tells the story of Jamaar Bracey. When a Chicago man is shot to death on a visit to Atlanta for his girlfriend's birthday, surveillance footage of the attack leads detectives to believe their victim may have been stalked by a dangerous predator out for revenge. After a 4.5-month break, PAYBACK returned with new episodes on Monday, December 26, 2022 at 10pm ET/PT on TV One. In this new episode, "Porsche Humphrey," a man is found dead from a single gunshot wound to the chest, and at first friends suspect a possible suicide. But when investigators find evidence that points to foul play, a vindictive ex obsessed with revenge emerges as the prime suspect.

On Monday, May 22, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT, TV One premiered the second season of PAYBACK. In the season opener, "Shot for Shot," when an accomplice to a 2006 murder is gunned down in a neighborhood bar three years later, police suspect the nephew of a world renowned boxer who waited patiently to seize his opportunity for revenge. After a four-month break, PAYBACK returned with new episodes on Monday, November 20, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT on TV One. In the fall premiere, "If I Can't Have You," after a missing mother is found brutally murdered, all signs point to her on and off again boyfriend. Investigators must uncover whether her death is a random act of violence, or a tragic tale of romantic revenge. After a 4-month break, PAYBACK returned with new episodes on Monday, April 8, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT on TV One. In the spring premiere, "Dead Ends (Part 1)," when young expectant parents are found gunned down outside an apartment complex, Memphis police are shocked when the father-to-be's family members theorize the couple's deaths are the result of a dispute over bundles of hair.

On Monday, April 22, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT, TV One debuted the third season of PAYBACK. In the season opener, "Straight to the Heart," when a Facebook post spawns a street brawl, a young man dies by a deadly stab to the heart. Despite multiple cell phone videos of the fight, investigators must struggle to pinpoint the vengeful perpetrator that struck the fatal wound.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a three-month break, PAYBACK returned with additional Season 3 episodes on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 10pm ET/PT on TV One. In the mid-season premiere, "My Brother's Keeper," days before Halloween, police find Diondus Billings shot dead, a victim of an apparent carjacking. With little else to go on, police's search for the missing vehicle unravels a revenge murder plot with multiple suspects.