Showtime has given the go-ahead for a new docuseries called Dark Net that will look into the dark, dank underbelly of the digitally connected Web.
With so many law enforcement procedurals on television, many with cyber activity as central themes, the term “dark net” is one with whom most of us are likely somewhat familiar. And with so much concern over privacy and security these days, it’s an ideal time for a docuseries that delves into the truth about what happens in the dark corridors of the Internet, including bio-hacking, cyber-kidnapping, digital warfare, online cults, pornography addiction and the webcam sex trade, according to series creator Vocativ.
Set to premiere, fittingly late at night at 11 p.m. on Thursday, January 21, the eight-part series will look at some of the disturbing and terrifying ways the dark net is being used. The idea is to both unveil the dangers the dark net poses to society, as well as hopefully inspire open and cautionary conversations about it. While many may have heard of the dark net, they may not fully understand what happens there, nor that, according to Vocativ, the dark net accounts for 80 percent of the Internet that seemingly doesn’t exist according to the standard search engine.
Vocativ reveals that the dark net has morphed from a place once used for the intelligence community to meet online outside of the public eye to an exploited section of the web that is being used in dangerous ways by cyber predators and criminals. “Imprisoned hackers and trolls secretly surf alongside bondage fetishists, virtual lovebirds, and life-tracking disciples,” writes the company.
Each episode will be a half hour long, and have a specific, eye-opening theme from the many different arms of the Web behind the Web, so to speak.
Mati Kochavi, founder of Vocatic, created the docuseries, and Danna Rabin will serve as executive producer alongside Vivian Schiller and David Shadrack Smith of Part2 Pictures.