VH1 Finds True Crime Stories

VH1’s hit unscripted series, “My True Crime Story” is back, following ordinary people entangled in extraordinary schemes. Naimah Holmes, President of Hot Snakes Media, offers insights into how to find people with stories to tell, and bring them to the screen.

How do you source these stories?

The team and I were able to source these stories through outreach, community outreach, online groups, community leaders, as well as certain programs and by reaching out to religious institutions such as churches. We also conducted extensive research through local news stories, articles, books, and word of mouth. Many people who have seen the show or who have known someone on the show reach out, wanting to share their stories.

What are your biggest challenges bringing these stories to the screen?

I would say that one of the biggest challenges is whether or not people are ready to share their stories and reveal their past to the world. For some, we found that their lesser-known stories are unknown to their children, coworkers, current friends, and even extended family. The full story remains undisclosed in many cases.

What were the biggest surprise twists you found this season?

One of the biggest twists this season was the revelation that a woman, who has since gone on to work on “Snowfall” and other well-known TV series, as well as writing her own scripts, ran a car theft crew at the age of 13. She even led a crew of older boys in LA.

Related Stories

Cynopsis 10/24/25: Crunchyroll’s Anime Takes Flight

Friday October 24, 2025    IN THE NEWS The “Stranger Things” series finale will screen in over 350 theaters starting Wednesday, December 31 at 5p – the same time it premieres on Netflix. “We’re beyond excited that fans will have the chance to experience the final episode of ‘Stranger Things’ in theaters — it’s something […]

Cynopsis 10/23/25: PBS Is Down for the Count

Thursday October 23, 2025    IN THE NEWS NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is standing by the league’s choice of Puerto Rican Grammy winner Bad Bunny for Super Bowl halftime performer despite backlash. “He’s one of the leading and most popular entertainers in the world,” said Goodell on Wednesday. “That’s what we try to achieve… It’s […]

10/22/25: Cynopsis Jobs

jobs7

Wednesday October 22, 2025 CONVERGENT TV WORLD 2026 Your Brand Belongs on This Stage At Convergent TV World 2026, decision-makers from media, marketing, and technology unite to shape the next era of video. Showcase your thought leadership—become a sponsor today. Registration opens Nov. 3. LEARN MORE    FEATURED JOB NATIONAL SALES MANAGER>> […]

Cynopsis 10/22/25: Apple TV Sets Premiere Date for “Shrinking”

Wednesday October 22, 2025    IN THE NEWS Warner Bros. Discovery announced “a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value” – aka it is up for sale. WBD said it had recently received “unsolicited interest” from “multiple parties for both the entire company and Warner Bros.” alone. While WBD – which has rejected bids […]

Cynopsis 10/21/25: Food Network Gets Out of “The Kitchen”

Tuesday October 21, 2025    IN THE NEWS Amazon Web Services suffered a major outage on Monday, impacting Amazon, Venmo, Facebook, Google, and some airlines and banks, among many others. While Amazon reported seeing signs of recovery early in the morning, connectivity issues persisted. According to AWS, the problem stemmed from a Domain Name System […]

CynCity

Cynsiders

Instagram