ID, ZDF onboard Herzog’s “Hate in America”

August 29, 2012 by Adam Benzine

Werner Herzog at the Polunsky Unit in Texas, during filming of "Into The Abyss"

U.S. cable net Investigation Discovery (ID) has commissioned Hate in America, a new series from director Werner Herzog (pictured) looking at “disturbing aspects” of American society, and ordered a second season of On Death Row.

Hate In America (4 x 60-minutes) will see Herzog “examining four disturbing aspects of the hatred that is increasingly poisoning the fabric of U.S. society,” according to ZDF Enterprises, which is handling distribution for the series, as well as both seasons of On Death Row.

The subjects could potentially include the “‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, feuding neighbors [and] a suburban housewife turned killer of Mexican citizens.”

In addition, ID has commissioned a further three hour-long episodes of On Death Row, the original series looking at prisoners in America facing the death sentence, which served as a companion piece to feature doc Into The Abyss.

The new cases involve “a man who beat his girlfriend’s 13-month-old baby to death in an attempt to free it from demons; a man who paid killers to eliminate his ex-wife; and a man who seems to have randomly shot truck drivers from his motorcycle,” according to ZDF.

In a statement, ZDF Enterprises president and CEO Alexander Coridass said: “We have been working very productively and rewardingly with Werner Herzog for many years now, and particularly esteem his documentaries for their intense humanity, their respect for the dignity of their subjects, and for their timelessness.”

UPDATE 20:00 EST: Hate in America will be coproduced by LA-based Creative Differences and Herzog’s indie Skellig Rock, Creative Differences president Erik Nelson tells realscreen. Nelson adds that the project is still in its very early stages, and the topics and persons to be focused on are yet to be decided.

Tags: Hate in America, ID, Into The Abyss, Investigation Discovery, On Death Row, Werner Herzog, ZDF Enterprises