Over the course of 10 hours-including follow-ups released in 20 (the latter, of course, for Netflix)- The Staircase delves into extreme detail and allows us to explore our own theories.
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There is a thin line between honoring a victim’s story and capitalizing on it, and the more recent Netflix true crime documentaries fail to stay on the right side of it. It puts me at ease to know that ultimately, I get more enjoyment from learning about the good (the survivors and those who solve the cases) than the bad (the killers and the crimes themselves). The gore and mystery are, let’s be honest, intriguing elements, but they’re not the priority. True crime fandom is rife with ethical quandaries, but most fans are attracted to the subject because of their fascination in the why, rather than the how. The Ripper, released last December, was accused of being insensitive for changing the original title of the series- Once Upon a Time in Yorkshire-to include the killer’s moniker, distressing the victim’s families as a result. We never hear from Elisa’s family or her friends, so highlighting a stranger’s emotions and need for closure (to what?) is particularly uncomfortable. One of the most bizarre moments is when one web sleuth tearfully asks, “Why do I feel like I just lost a friend, a sister?” Later, the same man enlists someone to go and place a hand on Elisa’s grave so he can gain closure. Crime Scene doesn’t have a solution to work toward, so it fills the space with the testimony of people who’ve become obsessed with the case.
Send me updates about Slate special offers.Ĭrime Scene’s diversions, on the other hand, feel like an effort to ramp up the spookiness of the story and stretch out the mystery to fill out Netflix’s multipart template-the creators of Making a Murderer, which laid the groundwork for the service’s true crime boom, initially pitched an eight-hour series, and Netflix suggested 10. (Tune in next month for Murder Among the Mormons.) But in feeding, and stoking, that appetite, Netflix’s true crime tsunami risks sweeping away the frameworks that true crime authors and fans have spent decades building, and stripping away a layer of respectability that the long-disreputable genre has only recently acquired. In 2020, there was an average of one new notable release each month, and with Night Stalker and Crime Scene released in January and February this year, that streak hasn’t broken yet.
And Netflix has unleashed a seemingly endless stream of true crime shows to meet that nearly bottomless demand. From podcasts to print, on Reddit and YouTube, there is a vast number of true crime content creators producing anything from long-form investigations to videos that are half stunning makeup tutorial and half murderous deep dive (some of the best examples of multitasking I’ve ever seen). The true crime genre has exploded over the past decade, and is becoming an unavoidable part of mainstream media.
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