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What Sets Dateline: The Smoking Gun Apart from Other Series in the Franchise — And How To Watch

Want to know how Dateline: The Smoking Gun differs from other shows in the franchise, like Dateline: Secrets Uncovered and Dateline: Unforgettable? Read on. 

By Gina Salamone
Your First Look at Dateline: The Smoking Gun Season 1

Now in its 33rd season, Dateline is celebrated for its compelling mysteries and revealing interviews with those closest to the cases. NBC's newsmagazine has been so successful that its spawned several sister series — including the latest, Dateline: The Smoking Gun.

How to Watch

Watch Dateline: The Smoking Gun on Oxygen Thursday, October 3 at 8/7c.

It joins Oxygen's existing slate of shows in the series, including Dateline: Secrets Uncovered and Dateline: Unforgettable. With so many mysteries to unravel, fans may be wondering what sets The Smoking Gun, hosted by Dateline correspondent Andrea Canning, apart from other series in the franchise.

How is Dateline: The Smoking Gun different from other Dateline shows?

Each investigation on Dateline: The Smoking Gun is packed with twists — false leads, wrong suspects, dead ends — until police finally uncover the smoking gun and arrive at justice. Canning said that the new series will take a deep dive into investigations. "It’s about finding that one clue in a sea of clues, a mountain of evidence, that will crack the case wide open," she explained. 

"Dateline: The Smoking Gun has all the DNA of the classic Dateline episodes that you love, but what sets this series apart is that we take a closer look at the police investigations, about what goes into finding those clues, finding that one clue that will lead police to their killer," Canning added.

Dateline: The Smoking Gun Key Art

Dateline: The Smoking Gun joins Oxygen’s No. 1 Dateline franchise in 2024, with new episodes totaling 2.1 billion minutes watched. Dateline: Secrets Uncovered (15.2 million total viewers; 3 million in the 18-49 demo) and Dateline: Unforgettable (9.9 million total viewers; 1.8 million in the 18-49 demo) are, respectively, Oxygen’s No. 1 and No. 3 highest-reaching programs.

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Dateline resonates so much with audiences because of course, they love the mystery, but they also like how we tell the stories from the perspective of so many different people — from the victims’ families to the detectives to the prosecutors," Canning said. "We take you through the story from beginning to end, and I personally try to ask the questions that I think that you’re thinking about at home. And so, all we can hope for, at the end of our episodes, is that there is justice for the victims.”

How can I watch Dateline: The Smoking Gun?

The newest Dateline show debuts on Thursday, October 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Oxygen. Look out for new episodes on Thursdays in that same time slot. 

If doesn't work for you, there are plenty of other different ways to watch Oxygen. It's easier than ever to dive into Oxygen programming from anywhere, with full episodes available for streaming on your TV, smartphone or computer. Watch episodes with the Oxygen App, available on iOS and Android by simply entering your cable, digital or satellite TV subscription information — or take advantage of three free credits that Oxygen offers for watching without a login. Elsewhere, most shows are available on Amazon Fire TVRoku and through Chromecast. Individual episodes can be purchased on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and Google Play as well.  

Shows that are in-season can be streamed live with a Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, or YouTube TV subscription. And you can always watch full episodes right here at Oxygen.com by entering your cable subscription information. Pick the platform that works for you.

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