Johnny Depp–Amber Heard defamation trial has been a boon to the relaunched Court TV

Vanity Fair

Court TV was relaunched as a digital broadcast network in 2019 after the original version -- which became a fixture of 1990s trials -- was rebranded as TruTV in 2008. Court TV received praise last year for its in-depth coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial. But Court TV's wall-to-wall coverage of the Depp-Heard trial has helped drive the pop-culture conversation over the past few weeks. "The trial, which has provided a rare, unblinking look into the dissolution of a mega-celebrity marriage, has included allegations of abuse from each partner," says Vanity Fair's Kenzie Bryant. "It has been sometimes-disturbing, occasionally-bizarre, always-tragic television. As such, it has enthralled viewers and, much like the network’s greatest hits in its halcyon days of the 1990s when it provided daily coverage of the Menendez brothers and O.J. Simpson, created a cultural conversation around it. Howard Stern and Joe Rogan have both weighed in. (Anti-Depp and pro-Depp, respectively.) It has all led to Court TV’s peak viewership since its relaunch in 2019, the network said." Court TV's coverage has also been a boon to Depp, even if his chance of winning are a long shot. "If you’ve been watching, it’s difficult to shake the feeling that Depp’s presentation of his case to as broad an audience as possible will be some kind of victory for the actor," says Bryant. "Court TV broadcast every moment of his four days of testimony on the stand—including direct examination (his lawyers ask him questions), cross-examination (her lawyers ask him questions), and redirect examination (his lawyers ask him more questions, attempting to mitigate any potential damage done in cross-examination). There Depp sat, looking like a shaved Jack Sparrow and speaking from the bottom of his voice, tinged with a vague brogue that would be so strange on any other Kentucky-born, California-based man. He’s attempting, as ever, to wield the star power that’s served him well over his 30-plus-year career. And the camera loves him. (Heard has yet to take the stand, but is expected to very soon.)"