When television networks began introducing the world to reality television, everything changed. Nothing is the same any longer, and we cannot figure out what is real, what is scripted, and what is honestly happening in real life or is being portrayed as a much larger deal because of ratings and dramatics and such. When “City Confidential” was introduced by the A&E network, it wasn’t really considered reality. While it falls into the reality realm, the show is actually a documentary-type of show. Fans have been watching since it first aired in 1998, but there are so many things fans never realized about this show.
1. It Was the OG Real Crime
While it is not technically the OG real crime show, it’s the OG of its type. Sure, we’d been watching “Unsolved Mysteries,” and shows like it for years, but “City Confidential,” opened up a new realm of reality television that uses murder and mayhem as its primary focus.
2. It Changed the Game
This is a show that changed the game for reality television and the true-crime fascination the world has developed. It was the first of its kind, and it was a show that grew in popularity over the years. It always did well, but it also did better over time.
3. This Show Was a Venture for the Network
When this show was first introduced, the world was changing. A&E was looking to rid itself of its reputation for being more A for Arts than E for entertainment. The network canceled many of the shows it had been airing for years to introduce something like this – which is more edgy and entertaining than artistic.
4. The Show Has a Broad Narrative
True crime shows had been on the air before. But, nothing like this one. This show took the viewpoint of a crime and expanded it. Instead of looking at the arrest and the solving of the crime, this is a show that went further. They wanted to explore what happened in context and how it happened, and then they went back to see how the crime committed changed the community in which it was committed forever.
5. Paul Winfield Was the Star
Of course, we all know that. He is the man who voices the show and lends his expertise to every sentence uttered on the show as narrator. However, it was his ability to tell a story in a way that was both factual and completely over-the-top with dramatics that caused people to listen. He has a gift for making people hear him and making every word he utters sound absolutely important and astonishing and as if it’s the only thing that matters.
6. Paul Winfield Didn’t Think He Was Right for the Job
When producers and the people behind the show called him to see if he would be interested in voicing the narration, he didn’t think he was the right man for the job. He doesn’t share this often, but this job came along at a time when he believed he did not have a strong voice. He didn’t think he could do it.
7. Winfield was Envious
He’s a man who was not confident in his own voice to the point that he actually envied other men and women who did have strong voices that were perfect for making announcements and narrating all the things. He felt there were other actors out there who could do it better than he could, and he was envious of their voices and their abilities.
8. He Didn’t Try to Be Better
One thing that Winfield was always honest about is that he didn’t do things to improve his acting or his voice. While others are taking lessons and working with vocal coaches and the like, he was not doing any of that. He did not care for his voice and did not think he was the best for the job, but he also didn’t try to be better.
9. He Didn’t Even Audition
Thankfully, the people in charge of this show didn’t agree with anything that Winfield felt about himself. They thought he was perfect because he didn’t sound like anyone else. The point was that this show – from the start – set out to be different. They didn’t want the traditional narrator and the everyday average sound. They wanted Paul Winfield so badly that they didn’t ask him to audition. They just gave him the job.
10. Humor Makes This Show
It’s impossible to believe that anyone would actively look for humor in a situation that involves a real-life crime and the hurt and panic and fear (and loss and grief and so many other emotions) that a family, a town, and a community feel when tragedy strikes. This show, however, went right for it. They wanted an element of dark humor to make it stand out. It works, too.the OG real crime showthe A&E network
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