Lucci Sinks Her Teeth Into ID's 'Deadly Affairs'

You really have to hand it to Investigation Discovery. The network keeps finding ways to put a fresh coat of paint on the same old chassis. In the case of “Deadly Affairs” -- a familiar “This could have been a TV movie” concept profiling trysts and infidelities gone wrong, eventually resulting in someone getting murdered -- the inspired stroke involves having soap star Susan Lucci host and narrate the proceedings.

Sinking her teeth into the assignment, Lucci appears in wraparounds sipping cocktails poolside, while well-muscled young men serve her. Essentially, it’s like buying “All My Children’s” Erica Kane (a character known for running through husbands) for a fraction of the price, and without a prenup.

The stories themselves are the same old, same old –- a husband cheating on his spouse, who turns up dead; a young wife in a religious community in Kansas having an affair with a student at the college where she’s working. Moreover, the producers slip two tawdry tales into each hour, so this amounts to Short-Attention-Span Theater.

Still, Lucci’s presence and voiceover make the whole exercise not exactly fresh, but at least trashy good fun. Moreover, ID's casting an actress famous for enduring almost two decades of runner-up status before finally claiming her statuette at the Daytime Emmys makes "Deadly Affairs" promotable in a way it wouldn't be otherwise.

Viewed that way, I suspect based on Investigation Discovery's ratings standards, the channel has a winner on its hands. If so, the soap diva might not have to wait 19 years this time for her “You (finally) like me” moment.

Produced by Sirens Media. Executive producers, Valerie Haselton Drescher, Rebecca Toth Diefenbach; co-executive producer, Christine Nussbaum; producer, Candice Grubb; series writer, Walker Lamond; editor, Dave Kratz.