Williamson County’s cold case unit may get its own TV show
The Williamson GEORGETOWN — County sheriff ’s office cold case unit might get its own TV series.
The sheriff ’s office and county officials have agreed to a twoyear contract with a New York production company to film its cold case unit at work.
If the company, called Hit+Run Creative, sells the show to a television network, Sheriff Robert Chody said, viewers could provide new clues about unsolved cases.
“Some of these cases are 15 to 25 years old,” Chody said Tuesday. “A lot of people over the years have moved away, and this is a possible way to reach those witnesses outside the state if they watch the show.”
After an American-Statesman story in April about the decision by the sheriff ’s office to use retired law enforcement officials to work on unsolved cases, Chody said seven production companies contacted him. Some visited from New York, Denver and Los Angeles, he said.
The Williamson County Commissioners Court approved the contract with the production company Tuesday at its regular meeting. The county won’t make any money from the contract, Chody said.
“I do not want the perception we are getting paid to benefit us on the tragic situation some families have experienced,” he said.
Chody said the production company could start filming a five-minute trailer for the potential TV series as soon as the end of July.
The production company didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
According to its website, Hit+Run Creative founder Rob Shaftel was the senior vice president of development at ITV Studios America, where he helped create “Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters” for Animal Planet and “Rebel Gold” for the Discovery Channel.
Chody said he chose Hit+Run Creative because it had the “same vision and same thought process” for the show that he did.
One of the company’s producers told him the show would be a “win” for the sheriff ’s office if it resulted in being able to exclude or include suspects or witnesses in cold cases, Chody said.
The sheriff ’s office will be able to stop filming at any time if it doesn’t approve of something, Chody said. After the film is edited, Chody said, his office will have five days to review it for any factual mistakes or other problems such as the TV crew accidentally