The shocking murder that made front-page news across the country receives a rare and in-depth treatment in CBC’s latest original true-crime docuseries, The Oland Murder (4×60). From director Deborah Wainwright, series producer Laurie Case and eOne, The Oland Murder offers viewers extraordinary and unprecedented access to the accused, his legal team, and their private investigators. Viewers are in the room as a real-life murder mystery and criminal trial unfolds. The four-part CBC Docs original series premieres Wednesday, March 4 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC and on the free CBC Gem streaming service.
On the morning of July 7, 2011, multi-millionaire Richard Oland, of the Moosehead Brewing family, was found brutally beaten, face down in a pool of blood. His son, Dennis Oland, soon became the police’s prime and only suspect and ultimately was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life. But he insists he didn’t do it. After spending 10 months in one of Canada’s most notorious maximum-security prisons, the verdict was overturned, a new trial was ordered, Dennis was released and cameras were rolling.
“This is a case that captured the country’s attention and we are proud to work with CBC and eOne to bring this in-depth story to Canadians,” says series director, Deborah Wainwright. “We believe our exclusive access will offer audiences a new perspective on one of the most perplexing murder cases in recent history.”
The Oland Murder is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at a murder case told in real time. Amid allegations of police misconduct and media frenzy, the series is packed full of unforeseen twists and turns as it drives towards its dramatic conclusion.
Deborah Wainwright is an award-winning director and Gemini and CSA award-nominated producer. For almost a decade she was Head of Creative at Force Four Entertainment (an eOne company), overseeing story and creative on all productions including the ground-breaking CBC documentary series Keeping Canada Alive and Keeping Canada Safe. She also led the creative team on the social experiment series The Audience (Corus), the youth program Tricked (YTV) and the charming relationship series First Dates (Corus). Series producer Laurie Case sat as Senior VP for Force Four Entertainment, and before that played key roles on critically acclaimed documentaries including The Wild Horse Redemption (CBC/TIFF selection) and The Suicide Tourist (CTV/Gemini winner). She has also held the reigns as Producer on six seasons of the factual series’ Border Security: Canada’s Front Line and America’s Front Line (Corus/Netflix). John Ritchie serves as an Executive Producer for the series. Toby Dormer and Jocelyn Hamilton serve as Executive Producers for eOne.
