Founded by Jennifer Erwin, Dark Pictures Entertainment is a film and television production company specializing in character-driven stories, FBI investigations, and truth-inspired thrillers. The company draws its name from her partnership with legendary FBI profiler Dr. John Douglas and the “dark pictures” methodology he used to solve his most complex serial crime cases. Together, Erwin and Douglas control the rights to more than 20 gripping true stories.

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Erwin began her career as an in-house producer at MTV Networks, where she wrote and produced highly rated series including Behind the Music, BioRhythm, and the Peabody Award-winning True Life. After five years at MTV, she went on to produce major network series such as America’s Next Top Model (The CW), Shadowhunters (ABC), and Paradise Hotel (FOX). She was later recruited by CBS, where she served as Director of Development and oversaw international productions.

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Her creative trajectory shifted after reading the #1 New York Times bestseller Mindhunter by John Douglas. Erwin partnered with Douglas to develop the television adaptation and brought the project to director David Fincher, resulting in the critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series. Following its success, she began writing feature films inspired by Douglas’s cases and launched Dark Pictures Entertainment.

 

Several active projects include:    BLINK, a truth-inspired suspense-thriller starring Scott Eastwood (pre-production); SOUND OF FREEDOM 2 (producer); SOUND OF FREEDOM 3 (writer/producer); PAPER HEART, based on Not Dead & Not for Sale, the memoir by Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland; BURNING THE GROUND (Legendary), centered around two harrowing cases led by John Douglas and the FBI’s first Black profiler; SCARPA, the unbelievable true story of a Columbo enforcer known as ‘the grim reaper’ (Showtime/Appian Way); BAD LAND, a Montana-set crime thriller based on Douglas’s New York Times bestseller (full series written).

 

Erwin holds two degrees from UCLA – Theater, Film and Television, and the esteemed Communication Studies school. She’s also a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy (2018), and was recently accepted into Harvard’s Masters program in Journalism. She’s actively involved in efforts to combat crimes against children and supports organizations dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating trafficking victims. She lives in the Santa Monica Mountains with her family and rescue pets.