Watch Killer Women with Piers Morgan
- 2016
- 2 Seasons
-
6.6 (788)
Killer Women with Piers Morgan was an investigative TV show, which aired on ITV from 2016 to 2017. The show had a singular mission - to explore the minds of some of the most dangerous and notorious female killers from around the world. It was a four-part series, with each episode featuring a different woman convicted of brutal crimes, ranging from murder to violent abuse, and more.
The show was hosted by British journalist and TV personality, Piers Morgan, who visited prisons around the world to meet with the imprisoned women, their families, and their victims' families. As he interacted with them, Piers would attempt to gain a deeper insight into the women, their motivations, and the circumstances surrounding their crimes.
The show was inspired by the relatively low numbers of female serial killers in the world - making up just 15% of all serial killers - and the fact that they often differ significantly from their male counterparts in terms of their profiling and psychology.
Each episode delved into the activities and psyche of each woman, interviewing those who had known them, and examining police evidence, CCTV footage, and other background data to create a profile that gave the audience an insight into the women's minds.
One of the most memorable episodes of the series was the first, which featured Ashleigh Banfield, who was convicted of the murder of a 74-year-old pensioner. Ashleigh had plotted to steal the woman's bank cards and Pin numbers, but when things didn't go her way, she ended up brutally attacking her victim.
Through the course of the interview, Piers addressed the question of whether killers like Ashleigh were born with something different in their makeup that made them more prone to violent behavior or whether external factors, like upbringing or traumatic experiences, contributed to their murderous tendencies.
Piers also explored the impact of these crimes on the families of the victims, interviewing surviving family members and exploring how they dealt with the loss of a loved one in the wake of such violent and senseless brutality.
Not all of the episodes were about those convicted of murder, however. In one episode, Piers met with an abused wife who had served jail time after killing her abusive husband, while in another, he spoke to a woman convicted of a fraud-related crime that unbeknownst to her, resulted in the deaths of twenty patients.
Overall, the show aimed to showcase some of the most fascinating and deadly female minds that the world had known. While it was not without controversy - there were claims that the show glorified violence against women - Killer Women with Piers Morgan proved to be a compelling and revealing look at some of the most notorious female killers in history.
The show received mixed reviews, with some praising Piers' interview technique, while others criticized the show for seeming to normalize and glamorize violence, even when dealing with cold-blooded murderers. Others complained that the interviewees were cherry-picked, making the program somewhat sensationalist and off-balance.
Despite these criticisms, the show remains a unique attempt to explore the psychology of some of the world's deadliest female killers. The series is a testament to the need for greater focus on the often-overlooked subject of female serial killers, and the show did an excellent job of opening a dialogue about the topic.
Killer Women with Piers Morgan is a series that ran for 2 seasons (7 episodes) between May 11, 2016 and on ITV