Regina Hall’s gig with ‘Cold Case Files’ is the perfect true crime rabbit hole

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Regina Hall works in the world of fiction, but true crime is a passion that she has been able to incorporate into her professional life.

The actress serves as narrator on a new A&E documentary, "Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper," which tells the story of convicted serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr ., who terrorized South Central Los Angeles for more than two decades starting in the 1980s.

Hall told CNN she didn't know much about the Grim Sleeper case before she signed on to the project, but "learned a lot more about it later."

"I was very happy that those victims got to speak honestly and candidly about what was happening during that time and how they felt unheard and unseen," she said about the victims who escaped and the family and friends of those who died. "I really didn't know about it. I was actually shocked. It certainly didn't necessarily – I'm sure back then – fit the profile of what people thought a serial killer would be."

That's because Franklin was a rare serial killer in that he was Black and also took years off in between his crimes.

Franklin, who preyed on women until his arrest in 2010, died at 67 in prison in 2020 after being found unresponsive in his cell.

Race also factored in to his crimes, as his victims were mostly poor and Black, with some of them coming from troubled backgrounds.

Hall said she appreciated how sensitively the documentary treated both the victims and those who love them.

"I felt that it was important that they (were) allowed to release their anguish, their rage, their pain," she said about the victims' loved ones. "A lot of times these documentaries, they're very focused on the killer, but this really focused on the victims and their families."

Hall would know, as she's such a fan of the genre, with "Dateline" and similar series being favorites of hers, she said.

"Human beings, we're quite perplexing, but I do like true crime shows. They're fascinating," she said. "Sometimes it kind of helps you to get into sympathizing outside of what you're dealing with in your own life."

But doesn't taking in content like that sometimes cause paranoia? When asked what scares her the most, Hall quickly replied, " Marrying the wrong person ."

"Because a lot of times I see them killing somebody and I think 'Oh no, not the husband!'" the "Girls Trip" star said.

"Cold Case Files: The Grim Sleeper" premieres at 9 p.m. on A & E.