One of HLN’s long-running series is migrating to CNN. On Sunday, April 28, at 9 p.m. ET, the CNN Original Series How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin will debut a new installment on CNN.
The premiere episode will be a two-hour edition that investigates both the 1912 Titanic shipwreck and the more recent underwater voyage to its ruins, which cost even more human lives.
Martin, the show’s host, is a renowned actor known for his Tony-winning role as Tom Collins in the Broadway run of Rent. He reprised his role in the 2005 feature film adaptation. Martin also starred on NBC’s Law & Order for nine seasons. He just completed an eight-year run on The Flash, where he played detective Joe West, and currently stars in NBC’s The Irrational.
Previous editions of How It Really Happened hosted by Hill Harper used to air on HLN as part of its true crime and docuseries schedule. At the time, HLN had more live and original programming as part of its daily schedule.
Now, HLN consists of a live simulcast of CNN News Central on weekdays and CNN This Morning on the weekends, as well as re-airs of Forensic Files and Nightmare Next Door.
The full schedule of the new season of How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin is below. A promo of the new season can be seen here.
“Titanic Part 1: A Clear and Starry Night” | Sunday, April 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT
“Titanic Part 2: The Last Moments” | Sunday, April 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Diving to Titanic is similar to preparing for space travel – it’s a very hostile environment and less than 50 people have ever done it. Even more than 100 years later, the Titanic is still leading people to their death. Recent advances in science and technology have led to brilliant new discoveries and uncovered move of Titanic’s hidden secrets, and this episode of How It Really Happened examines how the latest Titanic learnings upend our previous thinking about many of the ship’s mysteries and myths. Weaving together the narratives of the shipwreck on April 14, 1912, and a recent underwater Oceangate voyage to the wreck that cost more human lives, this episode features interviews with Titanic historians, wreck analysts, descendants of Titanic passengers, and writer and producer Julian Fellowes (Titanic).
“Anthrax: Terror by Mail” | Sunday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Following the 2001 terror attacks on 9/11, which shook the country to its core, came a second wave of threats, potentially even more deadly. Anthrax has been called “the poor man’s nuclear bomb” – it is a spore-forming bacteria that is only a few microns in size and has the capability to kill millions. Both easy to make and easy to weaponize, these biological attacks gripped the nation with fear and launched one of the largest investigations in FBI history. This episode of How It Really Happened features interviews with former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, former Senate Democratic Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding, Dr. Jean Malecki who identified the case in the Anthrax attacks, and US postal workers and members of the media who survived exposure to Anthrax.
“Oscar Pistorius: The Bladerunner” | Sunday, May 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT
The shocking shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp at the hands of Olympic superstar and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius on Valentine’s Day of 2013 pulled the curtain back on the storybook romance of a celebrated Hollywood couple. It started as a charming love affair between a world-famous athlete and a fashion model and ended with four hollow-point bullets through the bathroom door. This episode of How It Really Happened investigates whether this was a terrible accident or a callous murder. Did Pistorius shoot Steenkamp mistaking her for a home invader, or did he intentionally shoot to kill? This episode features footage from the court in Pretoria, South Africa, during Pistorius’s 2013 murder trial and 2023 parole hearing and original interviews with Steenkamp’s mother, modeling agent, and family attorney.
“Gardner Art Heist: Stealing Beauty” | Sunday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is known for its vibrant art collection depicting Renaissance scenes. But on the night of Saint Patrick’s Day in 1990, robbers swept in, terrorizing the guards and taking 13 pieces of art which have never been recovered and are now worth half a billion dollars. This episode of How It Really Happened includes an interview with the museum security guard on duty who details the events of that night and his experience being held captive by the intruders, with never-before-seen museum security footage. FBI special agents, government officials and local journalists who covered the case provide expert insight into the international undercover operation attempting to recover the missing art and the key players in organized crime who have been suspected