Surviving Jeffrey Epstein is an American documentary television miniseries about convicted

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, de ...

, directed by

Anne Sundberg ''Anne Sundberg'' is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, most known for her documentarian work. She works alongside Ricki Stern. She is most known for ''The Trials of Darryl Hunt'' (2006), ''The Devil Came on Horseback'' (2007) ...

and

Ricki Stern ''Ricki Stern'' is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, most known for her documentarian work, and author. She works alongside Anne Sundberg. She is most known for ''The Trials of Darryl Hunt'' (2006), ''The Devil Came on Horsebac ...

. It consists of 4-episodes and premiered on August 9, 2020, on

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

Plot

The documentary series follows convicted sex offender

who used his power and finances to shield his predatory behavior. Eight survivors share their stories in the documentary. Courtney Wild, Rachel Kay Benavides, and

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Virginia Louise Giuffre ('' née'' Roberts; born August 9, 1983) is an American-Australian campaigner who offers support to victims of sex trafficking. She is an alleged victim of the sex trafficking ring of Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre created V ...

appear in the series, along with new victims who chose to come forward for the first time. The series continued filming close to the release date in order to include the FBI arrest of British socialite and alleged Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell on July 2, 2020.

Episodes

Production

In July 2019, it was announced

and

would direct the documentary, with Robert Friedman (producer), Robert Friedman set to produce the series under his Bungalow Media + Entertainment banner, to premiere on

. In January 2020, Lifetime greenlit the series.

Broadcast

In the United States, the series premiered on August 9, 2020, with back-to-back episodes before concluding on August 10 on

. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on August 25, 2020, with back-to-back episodes before concluding on August 26, on Crime & Investigation (European TV channel), Crime & Investigation.

Reception

Critical response

On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Impact

The National Sexual Assault Hotline in the United States, operated by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), experienced a 34% increase in calls during the airing of the documentary.

References

External links

* {{Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal 2020 American television series debuts 2020 American television series endings 2020s American documentary television series 2020s American television miniseries Lifetime (TV network) original programming Jeffrey Epstein Films about child sexual abuse