New ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ meets the times

What to know about the original

Spawned from a series of prime-time missing-persons specials in 1985, the original “Unsolved Mysteries” laid some of the foundation for the modern true-crime phenomenon, turning regular citizens into detectives, paranormal investigators and UFO experts. Unlike the regular news broadcasts of its day, “Unsolved Mysteries” urged viewers to get involved and call in with tips, leading many of the cases to be solved with the help of everyday people.

The solvable ones, that is. Not so much with those involving Bigfoot and haunted houses.

When the Netflix reboot debuted last week, the theme music was familiar, but much else changed, including the format. What abides is its focus on the unexplained, whether pulled from old police files or steeped in paranormal legend.Here’s what to know before watching. tails about how a viewer had solved a previous week’s crime or reconnected with long-lost relatives. For viewers, the thought that a murderer or missing person might be someone they knew gave the show an energy that presaged the kind of truecrime obsessiveness found today on internet message boards and in the rabid fan bases of podcasts like “Serial” and “My Favorite Murder.”

As true crime became an interactive industry in the decades since the premiere of “Unsolved Mysteries,” other shows followed suit. Programs such as “48 Hours” and “Dateline NBC,” originally formatted as timely newsmagazines, began to focus more on criminal cases. Netflix and HBO helped turn true crime into a prestige TV industry, airing series like “The Innocence Files” and “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” that are fueled by searches for justice and resolution. ing that Reeves’ suicide was correctly solved.