Killing Fields is

back! And detectives Rodie Sanchez and Aubrey St. Angelo are still hard at

work, trying to solve the 1997 homicide of former Louisiana State University

student Eugenie Boisfontaine.

Shot in real time, the first season of Discovery Channel’s

true-crime docuseries followed Sanchez as he partnered with St. Angelo to

finally bring justice to Boisfontaine’s family 20 years later. Unfortunately,

despite several breaks in the case, Boisfontaine’s murder remained unsolved by

the end of the first six episodes.

“It was definitely a disappointment that we didn’t get

further in the first season,” co-executive producer Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life on the Street) tells ET

ahead of season two, which premieres Tuesday, Jan. 3. (Watch an exclusive clip from the premiere above.) “But in the second, we

pick up the case and things start moving along.”

MORE: 'Killing Fields' Season 2 Finds Links to Other Unsolved Cases

“For us, this is very real. It’s the way police procedures

really work,” Fontana continues, adding that crimes don’t get solved in 46

minutes, which TV audiences are used to seeing on their favorite cop

procedurals. “They take a long time. This is a cold case, so it’s got even more

problems working against it. But the detectives are so wonderfully determined.”



Aside from audiences’ fascination with true crime -- a genre

that exploded last year -- the detectives are the real draw on Killing Fields. “To see their genuine

commitment to solving the crime is really fun to watch,” Fontana says. In fact,

it’s these real-life characters that the Emmy-winning producer is most excited

to explore in season two. “I have to say, character beats out plot every time.”

EXCLUSIVE: 'Killing Fields' Returns With New Leads, Twists and Suspects This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.



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While there was some discussion about moving the show to another city and focusing on another unsolved crime, Fontana felt it was important to stay in Iberville Parish with Sanchez and St. Angelo as they continue to work on Boisfontaine’s unsolved murder. “And it’s paid off,” he says.

Not only do the detectives continue working on the 1997 cold case, but they also investigate other crimes, including a terrifying case of a body stuffed inside a barrel, which is possibly linked to an unsolved disappearance from 26 years ago. It also happens to be a case that Sanchez previously worked on. “The effect of that wouldn’t be as awesome if we didn’t know who Rodie was at this point,” Fontana says.

“For me, it’s about seeing these men and women and getting to know them all the more,” Fontana says of season two, which will go deeper into the lives of these Louisiana detectives and investigators -- and hopefully bring closure to these unsolved cases.

Killing Fields airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel.