Following a timehonored formula for true crime
Truecrime shows are, for lack of a better word, grounding. Oddly refreshing, even.
In a media landscape in which we marvel at superheroes and look through the black mirror into the twilight zone and other stranger things, true crime reminds us that, in real life, no one with such powers will save us from bad people.
But maybe our smarts and skills will get them in the end.
“Unsolved Mysteries” is, for many, the granddaddy of truecrime shows, and Netflix’s new series reboot, which drops Wednesday, July 1, thankfully doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel — it even keeps the same theme music. It’s a straightup, gutlevel documentary approach to real cold cases that ends with the familiar “If you have any information regarding the disappearance of ...” call for tips.
The only big change is the lack of a narrator. “Unsolved
Mystery” fans might remember the ominous golden tones of the late Robert Stack, the show’s definitive host from 1987 to 2002 (Raymond Burr, Karl Malden, Virginia Madsen and Dennis Farina each had short stints hosting the series, which originated on NBC and was last seen on Spike TV in 2010).
“Stranger Things” producer Shawn Levy, who says he’s been an “Unsolved Mysteries” fan since his college days, serves as executive producer here.
Season one of the Netflix reboot begins with six episodes, with six more to be released later this year, each covering a single case. Episodes vary in quality; the season opens with the compelling “Mystery on the Rooftop,” about a young newlywed who plunges to his death from the roof of a hotel hours after getting a mysterious phone call and bounding out of the house in a panic. The family, and one intrepid TV reporter, aren’t buying the police verdict of suicide.
The best of the bunch is the third episode, “House of Terror,” set in France, where a family of a mother and four children are murdered and the father is on the run. The bizarre circumstances of the killings and burials suggest a truly deranged, yet brilliant, mind; his methods are just as puzzling as his whereabouts.
And then there’s the fascinating “Berkshires UFO,” kind of a reallife “The Vast of Night,” in which residents of a
“Unsolved Mysteries”: Documentary series. First six episodes premiere on Netflix on Wednesday, July 1.
small town recount the strange happenings of a halfcentury earlier — a break from true crime, though not unusual for a series that occasionally tackled mysteries such as Bigfoot and the Kennedy assassinations.
What makes the reboot so strong is that each episode unfolds like a narrative mystery, with fully fleshedout “characters” — a.k.a., real people whose lives and emotions are allowed space, providing muchneeded context to the crime at hand.
It’ll be interesting to see if the general public will help bring closure to any of these Netflix cases, as has happened in the past. For starters, let’s get that French guy.