or


[10/08/21 - 11:01 AM]
New Docuseries "Undercover Underage" Follows Roo Powell as She Identifies Some of the Internet's Most Dangerous Child Predators
The first two episodes will begin streaming on discovery+ on Tuesday, November 2.

[via press release from Discovery, Inc.]

NEW DOCUSERIES "UNDERCOVER UNDERAGE" FOLLOWS ROO POWELL AS SHE IDENTIFIES SOME OF THE INTERNET'S MOST DANGEROUS CHILD PREDATORS

-- Six-Part True Crime Series Premieres on discovery+ starting Tuesday, November 2 --

(New York, NY) -- Every day, countless adults use the internet with insidious intentions to groom, sexually exploit, and abuse children online. With the ability to remain anonymous and virtually untraceable, many of these perpetrators manage to slip under the radar or evade detection entirely, leaving unsuspecting children vulnerable to the abuse that lies just beyond their screens. Through her nonprofit organization SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse), child advocate Roo Powell has built a team that works in collaboration with law enforcement to detect offenders who prey on unsuspecting kids. Undercover Underage follows the team in real time as they transform Roo, a 38-year-old mother of three, into a teen persona and work to reveal the true identities of the men who reach out to her. It's a race against time to identify the suspects before they discover Roo herself is not who she claims to be. This new six-part docuseries will give insight into how SOSA works to successfully track down some of the internet's most dangerous child predators. The first two episodes of Undercover Underage will begin streaming on discovery+ on Tuesday, November 2. New episodes will stream every Tuesday.

In Undercover Underage, Roo and the team at SOSA create carefully crafted stories, social media profiles and photos to help Roo transform into a teen online. The series follows strategic social media lead, Shelby Chikazawa; photographer and visuals lead, Matt Monath; writer and story developer, Avalon Esposito; research lead Kelly Becker; and law enforcement officer, Sergeant Mark Suda, as they create and operate three separate personas of fictitious, underage girls, each living unrelated lives in different cities across the country. Once adults engage with Roo's underage decoys - which sometimes takes only minutes - the team communicates with them via texts, calls, and even distressing video chats to gather pieces of information about their real identities.

Every adult that contacts the teenage decoys is explicitly told from the outset that they are speaking to an underage girl, and are given the opportunity to cease communication at any point. It's a good scenario when someone disengages immediately after discovering they're interacting with a teen, but all too often, the situation escalates almost immediately when the person responds with a graphic photo or request. For those who choose to proceed with explicit exchanges with a supposed minor, the team mobilizes to put a name to the offender. Many are operating under their own fake identity, which makes finding a true identification tricky and complicated. Once the team at SOSA has enough information for a positive identification, they turn over their findings to law enforcement. With suspected predators ranging from school employees to high-profile community figures, it's a race against the clock to get these individuals on law enforcement's radar to keep them from continuing their crimes.

"The online world can be a perilous space for children and we are so grateful for the work SOSA does to ensure that kids can feel, and be, safer on the internet, " said Jason Sarlanis, President of Crime and Investigative Content. "In Undercover Underage we embed with Roo and her team to offer a harrowing, first-hand look at how they operate. Their mission to expose the dangers lurking online is intense, dangerous, and critical... now more than ever. The realities they uncover are startling and the parents of every internet connected child need to watch this show."

"Online sexual abuse and exploitation can happen quickly and quietly. A minor can be alone in their room and someone can be abusing them via their phone 2,000 miles away," said Roo Powell, founder of SOSA. "And complicating matters is the fact that this kind of abuse isn't as well known, leaving a lot of kids and teens feeling confused, ashamed, and isolated. My hope is through broadening awareness with this show, we can prevent sex abuse and exploitation of children online, as well as empower parents and caregivers to be a compassionate support system for kids in their communities."

Ron Simon is executive producer of Undercover Underage for discovery+.

About Roo Powell

Roo Powell is an award-winning writer, child advocate, and founder of SOSA, a non-profit committed to raising awareness and combating the pervasiveness of online child sex abuse and exploitation. Her writing and work reflect her passion and advocacy for human rights, covering sex trafficking, poverty, race relations, and child wellness.

She has been featured as a writer, speaker, and advocate in/at SXSW, The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, Nightline, Sunrise Australia, CTV, BuzzFeed, Expo East, Huffington Post, Parents, HLN, BlogHer, Mom 2.0 Summit, Dad 2.0 Summit, Unilever Corporate, and various other news outlets.

Roo previously sat on the board for The Cove, a non-profit that services children who have lost a parent or a sibling. Roo currently serves as an advisor to Spectrum Labs, a venture-backed AI company that keeps over 1 billion+ users safe online through text and audio moderation.

About SOSA

SOSA helps combat online sex abuse and exploitation in collaboration with and consultation from law enforcement. Using a variety of tactics - including studying offenders' language and stratagem - SOSA identifies pockets of the internet where offenders target minors and reports information to various Internet Crimes Against Children task forces throughout the US.

SOSA supports abuse survivors, spearheads child abuse prevention initiatives, advocates for better and broader online safety, provides empathy-led education to young people, helps build technology that makes online platforms safer, and signal boosts the work of other organizations who strive to make a difference for kids all over the world.

About discovery+

discovery+ is the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service. discovery+ has the largest-ever content offering of any new streaming service at launch, featuring a wide range of exclusive, original series across popular, passion verticals in which Discovery brands have a strong leadership position, including lifestyle and relationships; home and food; true crime; paranormal; adventure and natural history; as well as science, tech and the environment, and a slate of high-quality documentaries. For more, visit discoveryplus.com or find it on a variety of platforms and devices, including ones from Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku and Samsung.





  [october 2021]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
     


· UNDERCOVER UNDERAGE (ID)





[09/03/25 - 11:04 AM]
Peacock Announces November 24 Premiere Date for "Bel-Air's" Fourth and Final Season
In season four of Peacock's "Bel-Air," Will tries to balance the fun and excitement of senior year with the expectations that have brought him to this moment.

[09/03/25 - 11:02 AM]
New Episode of HBO Original Documentary Series "The Case Against Adnan Syed" Debuts September 18
This all-new episode chronicles Adnan's personal journey from incarceration to freedom, and his eventual reunion with family after 23 years behind bars.

[09/03/25 - 11:01 AM]
"The Kelly Clarkson Show" Returns with All New Episodes on Monday, Sept. 29
New season guests include Emily Blunt, Marion Cotillard, Colin Farrell, Scarlett Johansson, Dwayne Johnson, Matthew McConaughey, Lionel Richie, Julia Roberts, Shonda Rhimes, Margot Robbie, Sylvester Stallone, Channing Tatum, Reese Witherspoon and others.

[09/03/25 - 10:35 AM]
FOX Sports Wraps Inaugural NTT IndyCar Series Season with Largest Viewership Growth of Any Sport
The 17-race 2025 season scored in a big way, averaging 1,362,000 viewers according to Nielsen Media Research, a +27% year-to-year increase from 2024 and the most-watched season in 17 years.

[09/03/25 - 10:25 AM]
Sophie Turner Confirmed as Lara Croft in Upcoming Prime Video New Series "Tomb Raider"
Jonathan Van Tulleken will serve as director and executive producer and Chad Hodge joins as co-showrunner and executive producer.

[09/03/25 - 09:31 AM]
"Jake Makes It Easy" Returns with All-New Episodes 9/29 at 10pm ET/PT on FYI Network
With his impressive culinary background and love of hosting and bringing people together through food, each half-hour episode showcases how Jake pulls from Jewish and Middle Eastern influences, family, and friends to create stress-free delicious dishes that always feel like a celebration.

[09/03/25 - 09:30 AM]
HBO Max to Stream Live All Elite Wrestling Pay-Per-View Events, Starting with "AEW All Out" on Saturday, September 20 at 3 P.M. ET
Also, earlier in the week on Wednesday, September 17, TBS and HBO Max will be live from London, Ontario for a special three-hour show - September to Remember - starting at 8 p.m. ET, featuring AEW's biggest names in non-stop high-flying action as they set the stage for the signature pay-per-view event that weekend.

[09/03/25 - 09:04 AM]
Video: Prime Video Releases a Killer Official Trailer for Seasons One and Two of "Helluva Boss"
The trailer celebrates the greatest moments from the first two seasons and teases new footage from the original episode.

[09/03/25 - 09:01 AM]
Warner Bros. Pictures Partners Exclusively with AMC Theatres and Dolby to Return New Line Cinema and Andy Muschietti's Blockbuster "IT" to Select Big Screens Worldwide, Ahead of the Upcoming Debut of the HBO Original "IT: Welcome to Derry" on HBO Max
At the screenings, audiences will also be treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the upcoming series "IT: Welcome to Derry," set in 1962.

[09/03/25 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "The Happy Mess Method" - Official Trailer - The Roku Channel
Organizational expert Sabrina Soto and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McCartney help celebrity and non-celebrity clients find realistic and sustainable methods for keeping their homes tidy.

[09/03/25 - 09:01 AM]
Winter Is Here! The History Channel's "Ice Road Truckers" Returns for Season 12 on October 1
From its original series premiere in 2007 to a several years long hiatus, the fearless truckers return like never before to the treacherous terrain of icy roads and frozen lakes in Northern Canada delivering crucial supplies and necessities to isolated communities.

[09/03/25 - 09:00 AM]
HBO Original Comedy Special "Caleb Hearon: Model Comedian" Debuts September 19
In his debut stand-up special, filmed in front of a sold-out crowd at Constellation in Chicago, the presentation showcases Hearon's ability to unpack life's most absurd contradictions with his signature charm and razor-sharp wit.

[09/03/25 - 07:35 AM]
Food Network's "Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking" Kicks Off the Holidays with a New Chapter of Magical Dessert Artistry
Chapter Two will feature even more spellbinding creations, enchanted elements and baking wizardry as a new field of competitors embark on the experience of a lifetime.

[09/03/25 - 07:31 AM]
Video: "Rebel Royals: An Unlikely Love Story" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The film offers viewers an intimate look at the controversial love story between Norwegian king's eldest child, Märtha Louise, and Hollywood's self-proclaimed spiritual guru, Durek Verrett.

[09/03/25 - 07:16 AM]
Andscape Announces Powerful New Three-Part Documentary Series "Memphis to the Mountain"
The series will premiere on Hulu and Disney+ on September 5.