![]() ![]() ![]() Dissecting the bomb proves a forensic minefield in itself, from the time taken to construct the device to the equal amount of effort placed on red herring, but what’s equally gripping is the story of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who emerges from the background of the tale into a fascinating mastermind. Written and directed by Barbara Schroeder, the four-parter explores the truth behind an extraordinary criminal case, known as the “pizza bomber heist”, which saw a robbery go explosively wrong in Pennsylvania in 2003. “The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist” proclaims the title of Netflix’s true crime documentary, and it’s a series that actually lives up to that title. There’s a real nuance to the way it gets under the skin of some of its more fanatical members, and a rewarding ramshackle approach to its storytelling, which allows the astonishing events themselves to keep you hooked for one more episode, but don’t be fooled: this is one meaty piece of television, which tons to unpack about religious freedom, group mentality and reality TV, all held together by pitch-perfect pacing and a soundtrack that entertains and unnerves in equal measure. It charts the rise of Rajneeshpuram, led by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who inspired a whole community of orange-robed followers, reducing them to tears, ecstasy and erotic pleasure – an orgy of devotion, belief and political manipulation that the show presents without judgement and with an open mind. ![]() Produced by the Duplass Brothers, this six-part documentary is jaw-dropping both in subject and style. When a controversial cult leader builds a utopian city in the Oregon desert, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal. The scorching, shocking revelations that they uncover will move you to righteous fury. That sense of people nosing through history out of need for entertainment or out of sheer curiosity is a familiar one for true crime enthusiasts, but we soon discover that Hoskins and Schaub have a reason for what they’re doing: they were both students at the school, where Cesnik inspired them. Our entry into the case comes from journalist Tom Nugent, who is rooting around his attic and digs out the clippings of a report he wrote at the time. She was found dead in 1969, weeks after she went missing, but her murderer has never been found. Our investigators are Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Schaub, who are investigating the death of Sister Cathy Cesnik, a nun at the Archbishop Keough High School. While the former is a programme that lets you play amateur detective, this celebrates the people on screen doing the detecting. Unlike Making a Murderer, The Keepers sees victims aiming to find justice of a very different kind. ( Read: The 6 stages of watching Making a Murderer.) ![]() Gripping and surprising, the series is hugely entertaining and moving – and, even better, has also proven the ability of TV to impact the real world. Bringing international attention to what the filmmakers and attorneys argued were miscarriages of justice, the show became an immediate sensation, as angry, shocked viewers to the Internet to call for justice. The documentary follows the decade-old case of Steven Avery and Brendan, his nephew, who were both convicted of the murder of Teresa Halbach in 2005. One of the most talked-about TV series of recent years, and with good reason, Making a Murderer is essential viewing for every true crime fan. This is exhausting, exhaustive documentary filmmaking, in the best possible way. But The Staircase’s vice-like grip stems exactly from the sheer length of time we spend going over and over Peterson’s case: by the time you’re halfway through, you’re firmly at the stage of playing armchair detective, but by the time you’re at the end, you’re feeling every new twist and turn with the same mix of surprise and weariness. The notion of following a single legal case for 13 episodes might seem like overkill – indeed, Making a Murderer only spanned 10. With no one else present in the house, he was promptly accused of her murder, a charge that led to a 16-year judicial battle. The series first began back in 2004, when director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade decided to follow the court case of Michael Peterson, a novelist whose wife was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their North Carolina home. One of the classic, definitive examples of true crime television, it’s the epitome of what has made the genre so popular in recent years – a rise fuelled by podcasts such as Serial and Netflix’s own Making a Murderer.Īlready climbed The Staircase? Get your true crime fix with the best documentary series, TV dramas and feature films available to binge on Netflix UK: The Staircase This weekend sees the premiere of The Staircase on Netflix UK, with three new episodes added to the existing 10 of the landmark documentary. ![]()
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