‘Snapped’ Boss Talks Secrets of Oxygen Show’s Success Ahead of 700th Episode

Scott Fishman March 6, 2026, 11:12 am

What To Know

Oxygen’s true crime series Snapped is celebrating its milestone 700th episode.
The show has evolved to focus more on the victims and the investigative process.
Snapped has garnered a passionate fanbase—including celebrities—and continues to resonate due to its authentic storytelling and commitment to justice for victims and their families.

From crimes of passion to black widows, Snapped has captivated viewers exploring what drives women to kill. Oxygen’s flagship series is gearing up for its milestone 700th episode on March 8. That’s more than 5,000 interviews, upwards of 3,500 cases vetted , and a whopping 36 seasons and counting. It’s popularly led to spin-offs including Snapped: Behind Bars and Snapped: Killer Couples. In December, Oxygen’s highest-rated series not only recently announced a renewal for two additional seasons, but the Snapped: Killer Moms.

Certainly bringing additional visibility to Snapped have been celebs sharing their outward fandom. Bill Hader called it a guilty pleasure. Lady Gaga posted on social media and mentioned to Jimmy Fallon that the show relaxes her. Viola Davis binged marathons, and Cardi B and Lil Nas X went as far as to reference the show in the song “Rodeo.”

“Since its debut in 2004, Snapped has remained a defining voice in true crime and a cornerstone of Oxygen’s legacy in the genre,” said Cori Abraham, SVP, Unscripted Programming, VERSANT. “Reaching 700 episodes is an extraordinary milestone and a testament to the strength and consistency of the franchise, its creative excellence, and the powerful connection it has built with audiences season after season. We’re incredibly proud of our longstanding partnership with Jupiter Entertainment, whose meticulous, empathetic approach to storytelling has helped sustain the series’ impact for more than two decades.”

All the stats and love is not lost on Madeline Griffey, who was part of the show from Season 8 to 22. The producer went on to work on other projects before being hired as showrunner for Season 32 onward. Here she gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the series and why it continues to resonate.

When you came on board, the show had already been established. How was it joining the production at that point?

Madeline Griffey: I started as a PA (production assistant) on Season 8. I was at the very bottom step of the ladder before coming up in my production career. I was learning everything from the ground up. When you are on Season 8, that is already a lot of seasons for a show. At that point, it was already a well-oiled machine and focused on telling real quality stories. I was sort of stepping into that process and learning what it takes to make a real quality episode of Snapped.

Is there one that you look at as the most challenging case you’ve tackled?

Every episode is a challenge in a different way. There was the Jodi Arias case that was so notorious. That was just really one where everyone wanted to hear it. It was really complex and a lot to get through. That was a tough one. We used to do cases that involved teens or younger people more, and those are so heart-wrenching to see people killed so young or who made these poor decisions when they were so young. That is really tough.

Jodi was broken down into two parts. How do you decide if a case should be broken into more than one episode?

We have excellent creative partners at Oxygen, and they are really collaborative with us sort of talking things through. It would be, “We found this case, and it’s really complex.” Or, “We have this special access.” They are really great working with us to decide when it takes a little more to tell a story, and when she should highlight that and make those decisions.

How do you feel the show has evolved?

Early days it was a lot more centered on the psychology of the killer. Over time I think the narrative of each episode has really shifted to be more focused not only the process of the investigation and really bringing the viewer in to make them feel like they are part of that process. Also, making the show, we’re centered on the victim and telling the stories the victims’ families really want to tell and how the situations came to be. We still go into all that and how these women made these terrible choices and committed these crimes that really ended up tearing families apart. We really put the viewer in the perspective with the investigator and in there with the families so they can step through each case with them.

Behind the scenes, what goes into choosing the cases? How much time and effort does it take to do one episode? .

I think one of the reasons Snapped is such a long-running true-crime series is because every member of our team is really committed to telling these stories authentically and sensitively. The actual production of getting approved and going into the field for edit is 22 weeks. But when you step back it’s really months and years because as soon as the case happens, we have a master list. We’re tracking pretty much every woman who has been accused of murder ever in the country. We have a team constantly researching cases and really prioritizing from the start. Sometimes we are prioritizing lesser known cases and cases where families and investigators are really passionate about getting these stories told. That’s what viewers want to see. They want to hear from these first-hand voices.

They want the family members who are finding out this crazy news or the investigators who are there when it happens. They want that access and those family photos, interrogations. When it comes to choosing a case it really comes down to whether we have the pieces of the puzzle we need to make this a really captivating story and have it come across to viewers. Typically, we are watching a case six months before we even get to sort of dig into the production process. Then when we have the pieces together, we go into field production and writing. We shoot recreations here locally in Knoxville, Tennessee, where [the production company] Jupiter [Entertainment] is based all through the process. Then there is our wonderful online crew who does the coloring and everything and makes sure every detail is perfect. We’re lucky to have a really passionate staff that wants to tell these stories well at every single step of the process.

What can you tell us about the 700th episode?

Our 700th episode coming up is Kimethia Coleman. That is a really brutal one. The 9-1-1 call is super intense. The victim was really loved by his family. I think that comes through in the episode. I think that will make it a great episode the viewers will connect with. I think it comes down to the episodes where we are able to connect with the victim’s families and really get a picture of who they are and really what they want them to be remembered for. Those are the episodes that make you really tug at the heart strings and make me proud of what we put together.

What does reaching 700 episodes and counting mean to you?

It’s a really great achievement and would not be possible by an excellent partner in Oxygen and our creative executives and without a really dedicated team at Jupiter to make sure we tell these stories sensitively and get all the details right.

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How does it feel to have A-listers as fans?

It’s always nice to feel appreciated. Snapped is so special because it connects with viewers and people keep coming back because it’s familiar. They know they’re going to get justice at the end of the day, but it can also be shocking with these heart-wrenching moments where you learn exactly what went down and how these women were so manipulative or conniving or to what extent they went into committing this crime that tore families apart. I think that celebrities and others appreciate that you know what you are going to get, but also so surprised by what goes down and details and the depths these investigators had to to get justice for these families.

What do you hope for the future of the show?

We’re hoping for 700 more. I think we should continue to tell the best stories we can and really connect with viewers and keep creating high-quality true-crime television. We’re so grateful to our dedicated viewers. Snapped has been on for more than 20 years and 700 episodes. We’re so thankful the viewers keep coming back every Sunday.

Snapped, Sundays, 6/5c, Oxygen