Plot Synopsis

TESLA'S DEATH RAY: A MURDER DECLASSIFIED is a one-hour series that follows military investigator Jack Murphy and Tesla historian Cameron Prince, as they journey around the globe hunting for information about his innovations and the research that may have gone missing from Nikola Tesla's safe. From Tesla's last standing American laboratory in Shoreham, NY on Long Island to his first American lab in Colorado to Tesla's homeland of Serbia, the team searches for missing documents and new data to understand Tesla's Death Ray. Murphy and Prince interview a wide-range of people including a rare conversation with Tesla's closest living relative. In Serbia, the team uncovers documents that will change how the world sees Tesla and this weapon. Deep in the Tesla archives, the team examines never-before-seen, hand-drawn sketches and calculations for the Death Ray -- completed by Tesla himself. While the team investigates, their findings are shared with engineer Aron Koscho who has assembled a team to build and test-fire a prototype of Tesla's Death Ray. If Koscho can prove that constructing and activating this fatal weapon is plausible, it would provide a motive for murder. Tesla's Death Ray could have swung the balance of power in World War II and the world's superpowers would have been in a race to get the plans -- or at least keep them out of the hands of their enemies.

Tesla, often called "The Man Who Invented the 20th Century," was the most famous and perhaps most dangerous mind of his time. In 1943, he was found dead in a hotel room, his safe cracked open, and his research missing. In 2016, the FBI declassified 250 documents that give fresh insight into Tesla's final work and final days. These files reveal new information about a weapon Tesla conceived called the Death Ray and show world superpowers including the US, Soviet Union and Axis powers were all interested in the weapon. The declassified FBI files lead many experts to believe a full investigation is needed to determine what happened to Nikola Tesla.

On Friday, December 22, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT, Discovery Channel premiered "Rebel Genius," a one-hour special that highlights the work of Tesla and his many contributions to communication and transportation technologies. Tesla's legacy has been overshadowed by his rivals and suspicions abound over the cause of his mysterious death and the circumstances surrounding his ultimate invention: the death ray. The series officially premieres on 11 days later on Tuesday, January 2, 2017 at 10pm, with an encore presentation on Science Channel on Monday, January 8.