One of Netflix‘s main attractions are its docuseries. The depth of their material is unmatched. Docuseries like Making a Murderer, 13th, Abducted in Plain Sight, and Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness gained cult-like followings shortly after being released.
It’s the payoff. You come out the other side of these docuseries acquiring knowledge you didn’t have before. Maybe, you’re motivated by anger of injustice. Perhaps, you’re just flat-out entertained.
For most of us, we gravitate toward learning about actual crimes. There’s something about real-life facts and truths that draw you in and keep you watching. This goes double for unsolved crimes where justice has yet to be served.
Netflix latest docuseries isn’t just an insanely popular idea; it’s a reboot from 1985. This original may have actually triggered TV binging cults into doing something great–solving actual cold cases.
back in action
Unsolved Mysteries is currently sitting at #3 in Netflix’s top 10 shows. That’s nothing ordinary because the original series was a huge hit when it first came to television in 1985 and lasted until 2010. The title sucks you in from the start. Once you realize you are watching a real cold case, you don’t leave until the ending credits hit.
A docuseries of this caliber is like watching a bunch of Zodiac crimes. You just sit there and wonder what really happened, who did it, and if the suspect will ever get caught.
This time around, the docuseries only has six episodes for its first season, and will not have a host like the original series did with Raymond Burr and eventually Robert Stack, who hosted until 2002 (Airplane fans, anyone). Personally, I liked the host model because it placed a nice bow on the gift of this show. Without it on the new version of the docuseries? It was just as compelling.
Six bizarre cases with very unique circumstances. You’ll get sucked in, trust me.
There’s a big difference between the viewership from the original series and the newly released series of last month. These cold cases are now actually getting a lot of attention across the country and around the world. With this attention, comes tips, and they’ve been pouring in.
There’s probably around 2,000 tips and comments at this point, but not all of those are credible leads.
We pass them on to the appropriate authorities. It’s only been 24 hours. We’re hoping there’s a lot of people who still haven’t watched and maybe this weekend they’ll sit down and binge the episodes and we’ll get more leads.
Executive Producer Terry Dunn Meurer / usa today
As we all know, the actual tips won’t be publicly known due to the ongoing investigations, but for the shows producers to confirm they’re credible has to feel good. There are some gruesome crimes shown in these episodes. Grieving families that deserve justice and thanks to this docuseries and these new tips, hopefully, closure is coming.
from the couch to the rescue
Back in the day, FBI’s Most Wanted was seen on TV, read in newspapers, and heard on the radio. The problem was FOX posted the shows once a week. They were produced with fuzzy visuals and didn’t have much instant communication. The Internet didn’t even exist for most of that time.
What producers needed then is what we have now–Netflix and social media. That’s what’s going to make the difference. This isn’t a new idea either. It’s just finally getting traction.
Docuseries couch detectives can binge-watch episodes to learn everything pertaining to these cases. It’s all there–the actual people, times, locations, interviews, and police updates within a full hour of crisp television.
Once you’re done, you can hit Twitter and interact with thousands of other streamers that just did the same. Netflix is hoping viewers will share their ideas. Two heads, are better than one, and thousands of heads are better than one police unit.
Shows like Tiger King, Making A Murderer, and The Keepers have opened up cold cases due to the amount of credible tips that have come forward due to the shows popularity on Netflix. That popularity can bring in new ideas, get people who originally didn’t want to say anything to come forward, or can even jog memories of potential witnesses.
A docuseries is the best way to get to the truth in cold cases. Given the current environment, it starts with binge worthy TV and social media. After that, it takes on a life of its own. When it comes to getting justice, you need to use every everything at your disposal, and this one is powerful. It’s time we use it.
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