Netflix Originals: The Evolution of True Crime Television

Netflix has emerged at the forefront of a modern craze: the serialized true crime docuseries, a phenomenon emblematized by the platform’s hit series Making a Murderer (2015–2018). This article contextualizes the true crime docuseries trend within the tradition of true crime television, a long-popular genre frequently dismissed as sensationalism. The article traces the genre’s ideology and format to situate the true crime docuseries not as an elevation but as a reconfiguration that operates with a similar purpose, as evidenced by Netflix’s docuseries reboot of the classic true crime vehicle Unsolved Mysteries.