50 Cent is expanding his production portfolio into prestige true crime, showing range beyond the Power universe. Jordan Hawley brings serious dramatic credentials from UnReal and Sex/Life.
Sources say Jackson was drawn to this project because the docuseries underperformed expectations — he wants a scripted version that gives him more creative control over the narrative and the tone.
Rex Heuermann pled guilty and is set for sentencing in June 2026. Police recovered 10 sets of human remains near Gilgo Beach between 2010–2011, with Heuermann connected to seven murders and an admission to an eighth.
True crime fatigue is real, but a scripted drama gives the Gilgo Beach story something the docuseries couldn't — character depth, dramatic tension, and a narrative arc that doesn't rely on courtroom footage. Whether 50 Cent's involvement adds prestige or just star power remains to be seen.
Peacock is developing a scripted series based on the Gilgo Beach murders, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is attached as an executive producer under his G-Unit Films and Television banner, Variety has learned exclusively. The project marks Jackson's deepest dive yet into Long Island's most notorious unsolved case — one that haunted investigators for three decades before finally cracking in recent years. Jordan Hawley is set to write and executive produce the scripted drama.
His résumé includes executive producer credits on Netflix's Sex/Life, the Lifetime hit UnReal, ABC's A Million Little Things, Smallville, the Taken TV series, and Deception. UCP will produce the project, which draws direct inspiration from Peacock's existing docuseries "The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets" — a project Jackson also executive produced. So this scripted take is essentially his second pass at the material, only now with full creative control over how the story gets dramatized.
The official logline pulls no punches: "For 30 years, the Long Island serial killer hunted in the shadows of suburbia — evading law enforcement by living an unremarkable double life. When detectives finally crack the case, his devoted wife and children are forced to confront the man they thought they knew, now revealed as a sadistic killer." That focus on the family angle is telling — this isn't just another whodunit, it's a story about deception at the most intimate level possible.
The real-life case centers on Rex Heuermann, who was arrested in connection with seven of the 10 sets of human remains discovered near Gilgo Beach on Long Island between 2010 and 2011. He later admitted to an eighth murder following his arrest. He recently pled guilty and is scheduled for sentencing in June 2026 — meaning production could potentially align with public interest at its peak.
That's not lost on anyone involved. Beyond this project, Jackson remains one of the most prolific producers in television. He's an executive producer on Starz's massive Power franchise, where Power Book III: Raising Kanan is currently prepping its fifth and final season while Power Book IV: Force wrapped its third and final season in January 2026.
Starz is also working on the prequel series Power: Origins. Add to that the upcoming Starz boxing drama Fightland, a Peacock adaptation of his novel "The Accomplice" with Taraji P. Henson attached to star, and an acting role as Balrog in the upcoming Street Fighter movie — 50 Cent's calendar is booked solid.
But for him, this Gilgo Beach series represents something different: a chance to turn cold hard facts into high-stakes drama, and maybe finally tell the story on his own terms. The question now is whether dramatizing one of America's most disturbing unsolved-case-turned-solved-case narratives will resonate with audiences or cross into exploitation. True crime has dominated streaming for years, but scripted takes — like the recent wave of dramatized versions of real events — walk a finer line between tribute and spectacle. With 50 Cent's name attached and Hawley's dramatic pedigree behind the writing, Peacock is clearly betting on the latter.
