Lion TV USA Options Edward Humes’ True Crime Book for Docuseries

Lion Television USA has optioned a deal to produce a docuseries based on true crime author Edward Humes’ “Burned: A Story of Murder and Crime That Wasn’t.” The book, originally published in January 2019 by Penguin Random House, recounts an April 1989 apartment fire in Los Angeles in which the three small children of Jo Ann Parks perished. Though the fire at first seemed a tragic accident, investigators soon turned their search to Parks, who escaped unharmed and was the sole survivor and only eyewitness. Investigators would soon find evidence that pointed to Parks having set the fire on purpose. and formed a case alleging that Parks had sabotaged wiring, set several fires, and barricaded her four-year-old son inside a closet to ensure he couldn’t escape.

Parks receives a life sentence without parole based on the power of forensic fire science, despite her persistent claims of innocence.
The docuseries will be executive produced by Lion’s Tony Tackaberry and Stan Hsue, as well as Humes.