You can add NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to the list of at-home sleuths who can’t get enough true crime.
“I’ve always been into it,” O’Neal, 54, exclusively told Us while promoting his new true crime series, Game Day Murders, which premieres Monday, July 27, on ID.
When it comes to the most popular true crime series and documentaries, O’Neal has “seen them all,” including Netflix’s American Murder: The Family Next Door. The 2020 doc tells the story of Chris Watts, who pleaded guilty to the 2018 murders of his expectant wife, Shanann, and the couple’s two daughters: Bella and Celeste. (Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with their third child, a baby boy named Niko, at the time of her death.)
Watts, who was sentenced to five life terms without the possibility of parole, hid the bodies of his daughters inside crude-oil tanks at a storage site in Colorado.
“I’m watching and I’m like, ‘Damn, somebody took his kids,’” O’Neal said of the documentary, in which Watts is seen on bodycam initially denying involvement in the crimes. “But then, you know, he’s not sad. He’s going out with other people.”
O’Neal continued, “When it gets down to it, he buried his family in that oil. I wanted to jump through the TV.”
Additionally, O’Neal said following the ups-and-down of the Alex Murdaugh murder trial was his “favorite for a while.” Murdaugh, 58, is currently serving a 40-year sentence for financial crimes after his murder convictions and sentence of life in prison were overturned in May by the South Carolina Supreme Court following the June 2021 deaths of his late wife, Maggie, and son Paul. Murdaugh’s double-murder retrial is currently set to begin on April 5, 2027.
O’Neal blended his passions for sports and true crime as an executive producer on Game Day Murders, a six-part series exploring the intersection of sports and true crime by examining some of the most notorious crimes in sports history, including the murder of NFL star Sean Taylor and and the death of MLB player Dernell Stenson.
“I thought it was a natural fit for me,” O’Neal said of the project. “I’ve been around sports my whole life and what surprised me is that some of the biggest stories don’t happen on the field or on the court. They happen after the whistle blows and a lot of them end in tragedy. I don’t want to sensationalize the victims of the tragedies.”
He continued, “These are real people, real families. I try to approach each story with honor and respect.”
O’Neal credited Game Day Murders host Lindsay Czarniak for being the true captain of the ship.
“She does a wonderful job,” O’Neal said. “I called her first thing and she loved the idea. She deserves most of the credit. I’m just a producer, but she was really the one asking questions and going into these places.”
Game Day Murders premieres Monday, July 27, at 9 p.m. ET on ID, with episodes also available to stream on HBO Max.
