The most beloved true crime series of them all is getting a revival, as HLN has announced the sequel series Forensic Files II will premiere on the network early next year. If you've binged through every episode of the compelling true crime stories Forensic Files, this will no doubt be very exciting to know. The news comes straight from an announcement trailer released by HLN on social media, which also reveals the show's return as coming in February 2020. Promising all new cases, the updated version will likely consist of a similar format as the original series, exploring forensic science and how it's been used to solve violent crimes for decades. You can take a look at the Forensic Files II announcement video below.

As seen in the trailer, Forensic Files has become something of a cult phenomenon in recent years. The availability of the program on streaming services has led to people across the world binge-watching through the entire series, making it one of the most well-known true crime shows of its type. On social media, many people have expressed their love for the interesting series, with some even referring to it as their favorite show of all time. Even Barry star Bill Hader has publicly praised the series, telling James Corden during a late night TV interview he had seen every episode of the series. "It's a true crime show, which is fantastic," Hader states. He adds: "There's a billion of them, which means there's been about a billion weird murders in the United States."

One of the first programs of its kind, Forensic Files first debuted on the TLC Network in 1996 under the name Medical Detectives. The docu-series highlights the work of forensic scientists and medical professionals who work together with law enforcement to crack unsolved murder cases. Even years before the show would have a resurgence in popularity on streaming outlets, it had proven to be a hit on television. After four seasons, Court TV (later renamed TruTV) picked up the rights to the series, airing it under its new name beginning with season 5. The previous episodes were later edited to have the new title and intro added on at the beginning, and the series would keep its name for the remainder of its TV run. Ultimately, the long-running series would conclude with with 14 seasons, spanning 406 episodes overall.

Unfortunately, the return of Forensic Files will come without a very important part of the original series. Voiceover artist Peter Thomas had provided his distinct voice as the narrator of the show for nearly every episode, with Peter Dean narrating four of the show's TV specials. Sadly, Thomas died in 2016 at the age of 91, five years past the end of the series. Because his unique voice added so much to the quality of Forensic Files, any kind of revival would certainly feel like something is missing. While a similar intro and format for Forensic Files II will be awesome for fans, let's hope our new narrator will be just as enjoyable in his or her own way.

Because true crime is only getting more popular and with so many people continuously binging Forensic Files, it's perhaps the right time to introduce a sequel series. There has certainly been no shortage of strange crimes and bizarre cases which have unfolded since 2011, and there will be more than enough material for Forensic Files II to work with. This news comes to us from HLN on Twitter.