Rotten on Netflix

A docu-series born from investigative reporting on food crimes.

From Pitch to Premiere

In December 2014, Haughney left her staff reporter job on The New York Times media desk to consult with Zero Point Zero Production (the Emmy-award winning television production company behind Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown and Mind of a Chef) about developing a series on crimes in the food world.
The Food Crimes web series was launched on ZPZ's partner website, Food Republic. The four episodes and the accompanying articles attracted extensive media attention, views on YouTube and even helped a French government official get his job back.
In 2016, Netflix purchased Food Crimes and turned it into the series Rotten. During the production of Rotten, Haughney Dare-Bryan oversaw a team of four investigative reporters for all six episodes who developed all of the season's episodes from original idea through post-production. Season One streamed on the network in January 2018 and Haughney Dare-Bryan was instrumental in promoting the show on networks like CBS and in publications like The New York Post. Netflix commissioned a second season by the summer of 2018.
Rotten debuts its second season which earns an Emmy nomination and a James Beard award for investigative reporting.

Recognitions

"Rotten is meant to illuminate the “intersection between food and crime,” and each of the episodes spins an alarming behind-the-scenes story involving a particular ingredient."

New York Post
"Like the best documentary efforts, it puts forth these stories with the idea that a more informed audience is a healthier one."

Indiewire
"It’s clear that Rotten’s storytelling is grounded in facts.

Eater

Politico food policy reporter Christine Haughney, who was the lead researcher on the Netflix documentary series 'Rotten,' talks about the series