Killer Among Us Star Alan Cumming Reveals the Twisted Case That Hooked Him on True Crime

Ahead of The Killer Among Us, Alan Cumming opens up about the chilling Scottish case that first sparked his childhood obsession with true crime.

Alan Cumming is jumping into the true crime pool as both host and producer of Oxygen's new series The Killer Among Us, and he just explained why the genre hooked him in the first place. Short version: it wasn’t a thing where he grew up, which is exactly why one local case blew his mind as a kid.

Scotland, not exactly a true crime factory

Cumming, 61, says true crime simply wasn’t part of the culture when he was growing up in Scotland — and, in his words, it still isn’t churned out there at the same rate you see elsewhere. That didn’t stop one hometown story from taking over the neighborhood when he was little.

The case that stuck with him

As he tells it, when he was a boy there was a woman in his area who was reportedly having an affair. She vanished. No body. For ages, people suspected she’d been buried under fresh roadworks — literally in the concrete of a new stretch of road. The mystery dragged on for years until authorities finally figured out who was responsible. A BBC Scotland special later revisited the whole thing, which cemented it in his memory.

He says that kind of case felt rare where he lived — dramatic, oddly glamorous in the way these stories can be, and happening right nearby — which is probably why it stuck. But he’s clear about this too: even with that fascination, he doesn’t see true crime as a big piece of Scottish culture.

Why The Killer Among Us has his attention

Cumming isn’t just hosting; he’s producing The Killer Among Us for Oxygen. Season 1 focuses on killings carried out by people inside the victim’s own orbit — friends, family, coworkers — the kind of betrayals that feel uncomfortably close to home.

"We know a murder has happened and that the killer is already in the mix, which forces you to watch differently — you pay closer attention, you analyze more — and that makes the reveals land harder."

If you like a built-in twist — spotting the wolf while you’re still hanging out with the flock — this is that.

• Who: Alan Cumming, host and producer
• What: The Killer Among Us, true crime cases where the killer is part of the victim’s social circle
• Why it stands out: You know from the jump that the culprit is on screen somewhere, which sharpens every detail
• Where/When: Oxygen, Sunday, May 17, 7 pm ET