Content warning: This article discusses topics that may be triggering to some readers, including stalking, grooming, and sexual assault.
"Baby Reindeer" is the latest Netflix phenomenon, the must-see limited series that people can't stop talking about. Starring Scottish comedian Richard Gadd and based on his award-winning play of the same name, "Baby Reindeer" is a dramatized look at real events Gadd endured when he was stalked by a woman he refers to as "Martha," and how his prior, unresolved history with sexual assault directly influenced how he responded to the situation. Given that Gadd is essentially reliving his trauma, "Baby Reindeer" differs from the majority of "based on true events" adaptations in that the person telling the story was actually there. There's no mystery to solve because the show's survivor is the one shaping the narrative.
But despite Gadd's tireless attempts to keep the identities of his abuser, his stalker,...
"Baby Reindeer" is the latest Netflix phenomenon, the must-see limited series that people can't stop talking about. Starring Scottish comedian Richard Gadd and based on his award-winning play of the same name, "Baby Reindeer" is a dramatized look at real events Gadd endured when he was stalked by a woman he refers to as "Martha," and how his prior, unresolved history with sexual assault directly influenced how he responded to the situation. Given that Gadd is essentially reliving his trauma, "Baby Reindeer" differs from the majority of "based on true events" adaptations in that the person telling the story was actually there. There's no mystery to solve because the show's survivor is the one shaping the narrative.
But despite Gadd's tireless attempts to keep the identities of his abuser, his stalker,...
- 4/24/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Joe Berlinger’s hit Netflix “Crime Scene” franchise has expanded to Germany. “Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer” marks the first international local market produced version of the true crime doc series, which is being released globally on April 3.
“Nightlife Killer” is a German language docuseries that was produced in Berlin and managed by Netflix Germany. Berlinger served as an executive producer on the three-part series that reconstructs the case of several mysterious murders in Berlin’s nightlife that became nationally known as the “Coma Killer” in 2012. Like the three previous U.S. versions of the franchise, “Night Life Killer” explores not just a story of crime but how the geography and social values of the crime scene location contributed to the crime itself.
“We were looking for a crime story in a location whose history and social values contributed to the crime,” Berlinger says, who is in year four of a multi-year deal with Netflix.
“Nightlife Killer” is a German language docuseries that was produced in Berlin and managed by Netflix Germany. Berlinger served as an executive producer on the three-part series that reconstructs the case of several mysterious murders in Berlin’s nightlife that became nationally known as the “Coma Killer” in 2012. Like the three previous U.S. versions of the franchise, “Night Life Killer” explores not just a story of crime but how the geography and social values of the crime scene location contributed to the crime itself.
“We were looking for a crime story in a location whose history and social values contributed to the crime,” Berlinger says, who is in year four of a multi-year deal with Netflix.
- 4/3/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
“Wednesday” continues posting huge numbers after three weeks on Netflix, beating out even the highly anticipated “Harry & Meghan” series on the streamer’s latest viewership rankings.
Tim Burton’s “Addams Family” offshoot starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday has officially become the third title to cross 1 billion hours viewed on Netflix within one month — only “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things” Season 4 have also done so to date.
This also means that “Wednesday” has passed Ryan Murphy’s “Dahmer” to become Netflix’s No. 2 most popular English-language series of all time. The company measures its Most Popular list based on each title’s viewership in its first 28 days of availability; “Dahmer” reached 856.2 million hours in that time, while “Wednesday” still has one more week to climb even higher. However, the series is now 352.1 million hours behind “Stranger Things” Season 4’s performance in its first 28 days, and with “Wednesday” racking up 269.7 million hours viewed during the Dec.
Tim Burton’s “Addams Family” offshoot starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday has officially become the third title to cross 1 billion hours viewed on Netflix within one month — only “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things” Season 4 have also done so to date.
This also means that “Wednesday” has passed Ryan Murphy’s “Dahmer” to become Netflix’s No. 2 most popular English-language series of all time. The company measures its Most Popular list based on each title’s viewership in its first 28 days of availability; “Dahmer” reached 856.2 million hours in that time, while “Wednesday” still has one more week to climb even higher. However, the series is now 352.1 million hours behind “Stranger Things” Season 4’s performance in its first 28 days, and with “Wednesday” racking up 269.7 million hours viewed during the Dec.
- 12/13/2022
- by Selome Hailu and Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Series: "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel"
Where You Can Stream It: Netflix
The Pitch: In 2013, 21-year-old Chinese-Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was found dead in a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Her disappearance and death was a mystery that made international news, though it later came out — once all the facts were in — that she had, in all probability, accidentally drowned while experiencing a bipolar episode.
In the meantime, compounded by a viral video with the last known footage of Lam, demonstrating erratic behavior on the hotel elevator, the case became an internet phenomenon. The first season of shows and podcasts like "True Detective" and "Serial" was just over the horizon in 2014, and this one,...
The Series: "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel"
Where You Can Stream It: Netflix
The Pitch: In 2013, 21-year-old Chinese-Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was found dead in a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Her disappearance and death was a mystery that made international news, though it later came out — once all the facts were in — that she had, in all probability, accidentally drowned while experiencing a bipolar episode.
In the meantime, compounded by a viral video with the last known footage of Lam, demonstrating erratic behavior on the hotel elevator, the case became an internet phenomenon. The first season of shows and podcasts like "True Detective" and "Serial" was just over the horizon in 2014, and this one,...
- 12/8/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
A motion by city officials for Los Angeles to enter into a master lease with the Skid Row-adjacent Cecil Hotel for a permanent housing program to address homelessness on Thursday advanced in the Homeless and Poverty Committee.
The hotel, a historic building which has attracted public fascination for its sordid past, has been the inspiration for a number of film and TV productions. American Horror Story: Hotel, Season 5 of the FX anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, was based in part on the Cecil Hotel. The building was also the subject of the 2021 Netflix documentary series Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, which explored the 2013 death of 21-year-old Canadian student found in the property’s water tank. In 2017, Investigation Discovery did a three-episode crime series called Horror at the Cecil Hotel.
The property was converted into an affordable housing complex last December, but six months later,...
The hotel, a historic building which has attracted public fascination for its sordid past, has been the inspiration for a number of film and TV productions. American Horror Story: Hotel, Season 5 of the FX anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, was based in part on the Cecil Hotel. The building was also the subject of the 2021 Netflix documentary series Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, which explored the 2013 death of 21-year-old Canadian student found in the property’s water tank. In 2017, Investigation Discovery did a three-episode crime series called Horror at the Cecil Hotel.
The property was converted into an affordable housing complex last December, but six months later,...
- 8/13/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: A podcast about the disappearance and murder of a number of Grateful Dead fans is the latest audio series to be adapted for television.
Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker behind iconic rock doc Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and a slew of true-crime docuseries, has teamed up with Wheelhouse Entertainment to develop Dead and Gone as a scripted series.
The podcast, a true crime music mystery set in the world of Jerry Garcia’s psychedelic rock band, comes from To Live and Die in LA producer Tenderfoot TV and Disgraceland producer Double Elvis.
It tells the story of how the bodies of Mary Regina Gioia, 22, and Gregory Allen Kniffin, 18, two fans of the Grateful Dead, were found in the San Francisco Bay, beaten and shot to death in August 1986.
Thirty-one-year-old Ralph International Thomas, a Black man, was arrested and sentenced to death for the murders. He died in prison in 2014, after multiple unsuccessful appeals.
Joe Berlinger, the filmmaker behind iconic rock doc Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and a slew of true-crime docuseries, has teamed up with Wheelhouse Entertainment to develop Dead and Gone as a scripted series.
The podcast, a true crime music mystery set in the world of Jerry Garcia’s psychedelic rock band, comes from To Live and Die in LA producer Tenderfoot TV and Disgraceland producer Double Elvis.
It tells the story of how the bodies of Mary Regina Gioia, 22, and Gregory Allen Kniffin, 18, two fans of the Grateful Dead, were found in the San Francisco Bay, beaten and shot to death in August 1986.
Thirty-one-year-old Ralph International Thomas, a Black man, was arrested and sentenced to death for the murders. He died in prison in 2014, after multiple unsuccessful appeals.
- 5/9/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
“Cobra Kai” high-kicked to the top of Netflix’s most-watched TV shows list with its Season 4 debut in just the first three days after its New Year’s Eve launch, according to the streaming service’s newly released Top 10 data.
The fourth season of “Karate Kid” sequel series came in at No. 1 on Netflix’s worldwide Top 10 English TV Shows rankings for the week of Dec. 27, 2021 – Jan. 2, 2022, with audiences spending an impressive 120.06 million hours watching the William Zabka- and Ralph Macchio-led show.
Coming in a fairly distant second on the list was the second season of “The Witcher,” which was knocked out of first place by “Cobra Kai” in its third week on the Top 10 and drew 94.270 million hours watched over the past week.
“Emily in Paris” Season 2 was No. 3 on the English-language list with 91.98 million hours watched, per Netflix.
For the non-English language small-screen titles, the first...
The fourth season of “Karate Kid” sequel series came in at No. 1 on Netflix’s worldwide Top 10 English TV Shows rankings for the week of Dec. 27, 2021 – Jan. 2, 2022, with audiences spending an impressive 120.06 million hours watching the William Zabka- and Ralph Macchio-led show.
Coming in a fairly distant second on the list was the second season of “The Witcher,” which was knocked out of first place by “Cobra Kai” in its third week on the Top 10 and drew 94.270 million hours watched over the past week.
“Emily in Paris” Season 2 was No. 3 on the English-language list with 91.98 million hours watched, per Netflix.
For the non-English language small-screen titles, the first...
- 1/4/2022
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
The second season of Joe Berlinger’s “Crime Scene” docuseries for Netflix, premiering Dec. 29, centers on the so-called Times Square Torso Ripper.
“Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer” will focus on how the danger and depravity of New York’s Times Square in the late 1970s and early 1980s allowed serial killer Richard Cottingham to commit heinous acts of murder for 13 years. Cottingham, along with Times Square and New York’s self-proclaimed porno king, Martin “Marty” Hodas, are all key characters in Season 2, which is split into three parts.
The first season of Berlinger’s series, “The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,” launched in February and explored the real-life mysterious disappearance, subsequent death and conspiracy theories surrounding tourist Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Netflix says 45 million households checked out Season 1 in the first four weeks of its debut. The streamer subsequently renewed the docuseries for three more seasons.
“Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer” will focus on how the danger and depravity of New York’s Times Square in the late 1970s and early 1980s allowed serial killer Richard Cottingham to commit heinous acts of murder for 13 years. Cottingham, along with Times Square and New York’s self-proclaimed porno king, Martin “Marty” Hodas, are all key characters in Season 2, which is split into three parts.
The first season of Berlinger’s series, “The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,” launched in February and explored the real-life mysterious disappearance, subsequent death and conspiracy theories surrounding tourist Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Netflix says 45 million households checked out Season 1 in the first four weeks of its debut. The streamer subsequently renewed the docuseries for three more seasons.
- 12/28/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
"The whole world is attracted to Times Square, but in the late 70s, Times Square was considered an atrocity."
Last year, Joe Berlinger's "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel" anthology docuseries, focused on the mysterious death of Elisa Lam, got the eyes of 45 million households watching on Netflix in its first month. As such, the streaming giant renewed the "Crime Scene" series for three more seasons, and next up is a trip to the other side of the United States to chronicle a predatory killer in New York's...
The post Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer Trailer: The Netflix True Crime Series Goes Back to the New York of the '70s and '80s appeared first on /Film.
Last year, Joe Berlinger's "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel" anthology docuseries, focused on the mysterious death of Elisa Lam, got the eyes of 45 million households watching on Netflix in its first month. As such, the streaming giant renewed the "Crime Scene" series for three more seasons, and next up is a trip to the other side of the United States to chronicle a predatory killer in New York's...
The post Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer Trailer: The Netflix True Crime Series Goes Back to the New York of the '70s and '80s appeared first on /Film.
- 12/15/2021
- by Anya Stanley
- Slash Film
Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger returns to direct and executive produce season two of Crime Scene, the acclaimed Netflix documentary series that unpacks the ways in which certain locations aid and abet criminal activity. Season two begins as firemen respond to a call at a seedy hotel in the middle of Times Square […]
The post Netflix Releases Trailer for New Documentary ‘Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post Netflix Releases Trailer for New Documentary ‘Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 12/15/2021
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
ViacomCBS announced the five participants for its 2021-2022 Directors Initiative: Julie Herlocker, Bao Tran, Joy T. Lane, Pat Santana and Steven J. Kung.
The initiative provides a platform for experienced directors to gain access to showrunners, executives, managers and agents as well as the opportunity to shadow CBS Television Network and CBS Studio shows throughout the year. The program helps directors develop relationships with industry professionals, networks that are essential to finding work in the field. In its 18th year, the program will guarantee all participants of the initiative an episode of television to direct on the CBS Television Network.
“The ViacomCBS Directors Initiative gives television directors the access, exposure and opportunity to be successful in this industry,” said Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, executive vice president of entertainment diversity and inclusion and global inclusion at ViacomCBS. “Last year’s participant, Morenike Joela Evans, has recently helmed the ‘iCarly’ reboot for Paramount Plus...
The initiative provides a platform for experienced directors to gain access to showrunners, executives, managers and agents as well as the opportunity to shadow CBS Television Network and CBS Studio shows throughout the year. The program helps directors develop relationships with industry professionals, networks that are essential to finding work in the field. In its 18th year, the program will guarantee all participants of the initiative an episode of television to direct on the CBS Television Network.
“The ViacomCBS Directors Initiative gives television directors the access, exposure and opportunity to be successful in this industry,” said Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, executive vice president of entertainment diversity and inclusion and global inclusion at ViacomCBS. “Last year’s participant, Morenike Joela Evans, has recently helmed the ‘iCarly’ reboot for Paramount Plus...
- 12/15/2021
- by Katie Song and Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
The countdown has begun. Netflix just dropped the news that Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer will stream on Dec. 29. On Dec. 29, the team behind Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel is back on the streamer for a season two. Filmmaker Joe Berlinger will explore the depravity of New York City's dangerous Times Square neighborhood in the '70s and '80s. The dodgy setting made it possible for one man to commit unthinkable acts. Earlier this year, the Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award–winning documentary maker's wildly popular Crime Scene had 45 million households tuning in to get to the bottom of Canadian student Elisa Lam's disappearance from a seedy Los Angeles...
- 11/12/2021
- E! Online
True crime fans rejoice! After millions of viewers tuned into Netflix’s Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel docuseries, the true-crime juggernaut from Oscar-nominee and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger has officially been renewed for three more seasons ahead of the show’s second installment, The Times Square Killer, which premieres on December 29. Jumping from the West Coast home of the infamous Cecil Hotel to New York City, Season 2 will focus on the notorious murderer who rampaged the popular tourist spot in the 1970s and ‘80s. The three brand-new episodes will “delve into the social and systemic forces that allowed horrific crimes to go unnoticed for too long,” according to the season’s description. The team behind Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel is back They’ll next explore the danger and depravity of NYC’s Times Square in the 70s & 80s — a place that...
- 11/12/2021
- TV Insider
Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel, a doc series from Some Kind of Monster director Joe Berlinger, was watched by 45M households on Netflix in its first four weeks.
As such, the streamer has renewed the anthology series for an additional three seasons and set the follow-up – a series exploring the Times Square Killer.
Berlinger, who is under a deal with Netflix, also recently set a series on American financier and convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.
Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer, which launches on December 29, will examine how the danger and depravity of New York’s Times Square in the late 1970s and early 1980s made it possible for one man to commit — and nearly get away with — unthinkable acts in a nearly-lawless area rife with drugs and sex work. These three episodes will delve into the social and systemic forces that allowed horrific crimes to go unnoticed for too long.
As such, the streamer has renewed the anthology series for an additional three seasons and set the follow-up – a series exploring the Times Square Killer.
Berlinger, who is under a deal with Netflix, also recently set a series on American financier and convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff.
Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer, which launches on December 29, will examine how the danger and depravity of New York’s Times Square in the late 1970s and early 1980s made it possible for one man to commit — and nearly get away with — unthinkable acts in a nearly-lawless area rife with drugs and sex work. These three episodes will delve into the social and systemic forces that allowed horrific crimes to go unnoticed for too long.
- 11/12/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix is returning to the Crime Scene — multiple times.
The streamer has picked up three additional seasons of the true-crime docuseries from executive producer and director Joe Berlinger, RadicalMedia and Imagine Documentaries. The first of the three new installments, subtitled The Times Square Killer, is set to premiere on Dec. 29. Subjects for the third and fourth seasons will be announced later.
The renewal announcement comes nine months after Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel debuted on Netflix.
“We always saw potential for Crime Scene to be an ongoing series about how certain locations became accomplices to crimes that took ...
The streamer has picked up three additional seasons of the true-crime docuseries from executive producer and director Joe Berlinger, RadicalMedia and Imagine Documentaries. The first of the three new installments, subtitled The Times Square Killer, is set to premiere on Dec. 29. Subjects for the third and fourth seasons will be announced later.
The renewal announcement comes nine months after Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel debuted on Netflix.
“We always saw potential for Crime Scene to be an ongoing series about how certain locations became accomplices to crimes that took ...
- 11/12/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix is returning to the Crime Scene — multiple times.
The streamer has picked up three additional seasons of the true-crime docuseries from executive producer and director Joe Berlinger, RadicalMedia and Imagine Documentaries. The first of the three new installments, subtitled The Times Square Killer, is set to premiere on Dec. 29. Subjects for the third and fourth seasons will be announced later.
The renewal announcement comes nine months after Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel debuted on Netflix.
“We always saw potential for Crime Scene to be an ongoing series about how certain locations became accomplices to crimes that took ...
The streamer has picked up three additional seasons of the true-crime docuseries from executive producer and director Joe Berlinger, RadicalMedia and Imagine Documentaries. The first of the three new installments, subtitled The Times Square Killer, is set to premiere on Dec. 29. Subjects for the third and fourth seasons will be announced later.
The renewal announcement comes nine months after Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel debuted on Netflix.
“We always saw potential for Crime Scene to be an ongoing series about how certain locations became accomplices to crimes that took ...
- 11/12/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Exclusive: Create Advertising Group is continuing to expand its Films and Series team, with the addition of Molly Levine as a Creative Director.
In her new role at the award-winning marketing firm, Levine will be responsible for the oversight of advertising projects for film and TV, contributing to the development of 360-degree campaigns for clients worldwide.
“Molly has an amazing track record of developing and delivering campaigns that people talk about and engaging consumers on every screen in the entertainment ecosystem,” said Create Advertising President Jonathan Gitlin. “Our exceptional team has always been our greatest strength and we couldn’t be more excited or delighted to welcome Molly to Create.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining this incredible team,” added Levine. “Create and I share the same values when it comes to creative sensibility, client service and the importance of nurturing great talent. Working with this group supports my ability...
In her new role at the award-winning marketing firm, Levine will be responsible for the oversight of advertising projects for film and TV, contributing to the development of 360-degree campaigns for clients worldwide.
“Molly has an amazing track record of developing and delivering campaigns that people talk about and engaging consumers on every screen in the entertainment ecosystem,” said Create Advertising President Jonathan Gitlin. “Our exceptional team has always been our greatest strength and we couldn’t be more excited or delighted to welcome Molly to Create.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining this incredible team,” added Levine. “Create and I share the same values when it comes to creative sensibility, client service and the importance of nurturing great talent. Working with this group supports my ability...
- 10/5/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Rolling Stone and Variety are pleased to announce additional programming for the inaugural “Truth Seekers” virtual summit on August 26th, presented by Showtime Documentary Films. RZA will participate in a keynote conversation about creating, executive-producing, and composing Wu-Tang: An American Saga, a series that examines the Wu-Tang Clan’s formation, mega-success, and cultural influence.
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes will take part in a keynote conversation about his new documentary feature, The Velvet Underground, and give an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at his creative process in telling the story of the legendary rock band.
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes will take part in a keynote conversation about his new documentary feature, The Velvet Underground, and give an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at his creative process in telling the story of the legendary rock band.
- 8/6/2021
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
Variety and Rolling Stone are pleased to announce programming for the inaugural Truth Seekers virtual summit on August 26th, presented by Showtime Documentary Films. Keynote speakers will include Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris (The Fog of War), with panels from documentarians behind Allen v. Farrow, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer, and more.
Stanley Nelson will receive the Truth Seeker Award. A MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Peabody Award recipient,...
Stanley Nelson will receive the Truth Seeker Award. A MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, Peabody Award recipient,...
- 7/21/2021
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
Six years ago, “The Jinx,” HBO’s six-part series about murder suspect and real estate heir Robert Durst, reinvigorated the long-form docuseries format.
A mad rush by premium cablers and streamers to come up with the next “Jinx” followed, with Netflix’s 10-part “Making a Murderer” later that year and ESPN’s format busting “O.J.: Made in America” in 2016 further whetting the appetite for long-form docuseries.
But in the last few years docuseries have become noticeably bloated, so much so that according to several veteran docu producers, major platforms such as HBO, Netflix and Amazon are seeking shorter series or the traditional 90-minute, one-off documentary.
While the explosion of docuseries may have initially garnered subscribers for streamers, viewer data structures and algorithms have convinced doc buyers that more is not necessarily better.
“It seems clear that the data is telling these buyers that there are certain types of projects that...
A mad rush by premium cablers and streamers to come up with the next “Jinx” followed, with Netflix’s 10-part “Making a Murderer” later that year and ESPN’s format busting “O.J.: Made in America” in 2016 further whetting the appetite for long-form docuseries.
But in the last few years docuseries have become noticeably bloated, so much so that according to several veteran docu producers, major platforms such as HBO, Netflix and Amazon are seeking shorter series or the traditional 90-minute, one-off documentary.
While the explosion of docuseries may have initially garnered subscribers for streamers, viewer data structures and algorithms have convinced doc buyers that more is not necessarily better.
“It seems clear that the data is telling these buyers that there are certain types of projects that...
- 7/1/2021
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall’s “Coming to America” sequel, Amazon Prime Video’s “Coming 2 America,” topped all streaming programs in its debut week with 1.413 billion total minutes viewed, according to Nielsen. The giant “Coming 2 America” opening handed Amazon its first No. 1 slot on Nielsen’s Top 10.
No. 2 overall on the new Nielsen sheets was Netflix original series “Ginny & Georgia,” which amassed nearly 1.2 billion minutes viewed.
“Coming 2 America” bowed on March 4, 2021, so the 1.4 billion tally only counts four days of viewership. The original “Coming to America” came out in 1988.
The previous week’s (Feb. 22-Feb. 28) top movie, for context, was “I Care A Lot,” which drew 807 million minutes viewed. This time around, “I Care A Lot” had 363 million minutes viewed.
Overall for the final week of February 2021, “Ginny & Georgia” was the No. 1 streaming program (series or movie) with 953 million minutes viewed. “Good Girls” reruns on...
No. 2 overall on the new Nielsen sheets was Netflix original series “Ginny & Georgia,” which amassed nearly 1.2 billion minutes viewed.
“Coming 2 America” bowed on March 4, 2021, so the 1.4 billion tally only counts four days of viewership. The original “Coming to America” came out in 1988.
The previous week’s (Feb. 22-Feb. 28) top movie, for context, was “I Care A Lot,” which drew 807 million minutes viewed. This time around, “I Care A Lot” had 363 million minutes viewed.
Overall for the final week of February 2021, “Ginny & Georgia” was the No. 1 streaming program (series or movie) with 953 million minutes viewed. “Good Girls” reruns on...
- 4/1/2021
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
“iCarly,” Nickelodeon’s mid-aughts sitcom starring Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor, found a new home on Netflix on Feb. 8., and with that second life a new generation. Per Nielsen rating insights based on their weekly SVOD Top 10 lists, the family-friendly comedy was a favorite among the ages 2 to 17 crowd during the first week of its debut on the streamer. Across its 60 episodes currently available to watch on the platform, “iCarly” garnered 883 million viewing minutes and landed in third place on the acquired content list and in fifth on the overall programming list.
In addition to the overall programming and acquired content lists, the global marketing research firm will also be pushing out weekly Top 10 lists that take into consideration original programming and movies in an effort to provide an expanded and more inclusive look at most streamed programs for that given week.
Three programs crossed the...
In addition to the overall programming and acquired content lists, the global marketing research firm will also be pushing out weekly Top 10 lists that take into consideration original programming and movies in an effort to provide an expanded and more inclusive look at most streamed programs for that given week.
Three programs crossed the...
- 3/11/2021
- by Mónica Marie Zorrilla
- Variety Film + TV
Firefly Lane eked out a second straight win on Nielsen’s weekly U.S. streaming chart, but the Netflix run of USA anthology series The Sinner was close behind in third place.
The results from February 8 to 14 reflect U.S. streaming through a TV set, meaning viewing globally or on mobile devices is not counted.
Three shows were bunched at the top of the rankings (see full list below). Firefly Lane‘s 10 episodes reportedly had 1.288 billion minutes of viewing during the period, edging the four episodes of Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel. The 24 episodes of The Sinner, meanwhile, racked up 1.229 billion minutes.
Disney+ series WandaVision, whose six episodes have been released weekly since a two-episode premiere in January, came in 10th with 598 million minutes of viewing. The level of viewing was fairly flat with the prior week.
The Sinner is a noteworthy title in the newest rankings...
The results from February 8 to 14 reflect U.S. streaming through a TV set, meaning viewing globally or on mobile devices is not counted.
Three shows were bunched at the top of the rankings (see full list below). Firefly Lane‘s 10 episodes reportedly had 1.288 billion minutes of viewing during the period, edging the four episodes of Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel. The 24 episodes of The Sinner, meanwhile, racked up 1.229 billion minutes.
Disney+ series WandaVision, whose six episodes have been released weekly since a two-episode premiere in January, came in 10th with 598 million minutes of viewing. The level of viewing was fairly flat with the prior week.
The Sinner is a noteworthy title in the newest rankings...
- 3/11/2021
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s been a while since the women of Saturday Night Live have gotten together for one of their glossy song parodies. For the February 27th episode, Kate McKinnon, Melissa Villaseñor, Ego Nwodim, and Chloe Fineman admit that their solution for “self care” when they need to unwind is to binge true-crime shows such as Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, Making a Murderer, and The Jinx.
“I’m gonna watch a murder show, murder show. I’m gonna watch a murder show,...
“I’m gonna watch a murder show, murder show. I’m gonna watch a murder show,...
- 3/1/2021
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
Fans of the hit new Netflix docuseries “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” who hoped to patronize the downtown Los Angeles landmark will have to wait. The hotel was bought in 2017 and closed for a luxury upgrade and remains shuttered. Below, we present 10 other hotels that became famous for their on-screen time or as inspirations — but that are open for business.
Jack Nicholson’s creeptastic “Herrrrrre’s Johnny” was filmed on a sound stage near London but the externals for “The Shining” were shot at the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood east of Portland, Oregon. Rooms are ample and a 100-inch snow pack is the norm.
Stephen King created Jack Torrance and “The Shining” from inspiration drawn during a stay at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Jack, who holed up in the dead of winter with his wife and son as the Overlook Hotel caretaker, had...
Jack Nicholson’s creeptastic “Herrrrrre’s Johnny” was filmed on a sound stage near London but the externals for “The Shining” were shot at the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood east of Portland, Oregon. Rooms are ample and a 100-inch snow pack is the norm.
Stephen King created Jack Torrance and “The Shining” from inspiration drawn during a stay at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Jack, who holed up in the dead of winter with his wife and son as the Overlook Hotel caretaker, had...
- 2/14/2021
- by Jeremy Bailey
- The Wrap
Cecil Hotel’s nefarious past is back in the spotlight thanks to Netflix’s latest true-crime documentary, “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel”. The four-part series directed by Joe Berlinger explores how the notorious Los Angeles establishment became associated with suicide and murder through the lens of guest Elisa Lam’s disappearance and mysterious death in 2013. Amy Price, the...
- 2/12/2021
- by Aynslee Darmon
- ET Canada
Elisa Lam's 2013 death at the Cecil Hotel has been marked by strange coincidences and conspiracy theories. The bizarre elevator video of her and the way that she was found in the hotel water tank only contributed to the mystery of her passing. To add to the enigma, most of the world singularly knew her voice from her Tumblr account nouvelle-nouveau. Netflix's docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel takes snippets from Lam's personal blog to establish the story around her death. While it no longer features new posts, Lam's Tumblr account is still up, and you can still sift through its archive.
The 21-year-old Canadian student wrote on her blog prolifically, so it became a valuable source for investigators and web sleuths alike. Crime Scene uses the Tumblr account not only to fill out the timeline of Lam's disappearance case, but also to reconstruct her voice and personality.
The 21-year-old Canadian student wrote on her blog prolifically, so it became a valuable source for investigators and web sleuths alike. Crime Scene uses the Tumblr account not only to fill out the timeline of Lam's disappearance case, but also to reconstruct her voice and personality.
- 2/11/2021
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
Photo: 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel'/Netflix ‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel’ series director and 2012 Oscar nominee Joe Berlinger delivers a magnetizing and jaw-dropping account of one of the most recent and terrifying mysteries that captured the world, with there still being obsessive subcultures of people trying to solve the case. Critically and commercially acclaimed executive producers and creative partners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer demonstrate their evolving creative success by trusting keen talent to steer important projects like this in the right direction. This Netflix docuseries is eerily gripping, incredibly fascinating, and masterfully directed and edited that elevates this show as one of Netflix’s best crime documentaries, which is high praise considering their wildly successful recent ‘Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer’, centered on serial killer Richard Ramirez, which ‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel’ is almost directly...
- 2/11/2021
- by Armando Brigham
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
(Spoiler alert: Do not read on if you haven’t watched “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.”)
“Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” delves into the mysterious death of Elisa Lam at the infamous hotel, and director Joe Berlinger said it was important for him to debunk the conspiracy theories surrounding her death out of respect for the victim.
“You need to be a good steward when telling someone’s tragedy — the past tellings of this story have hid behind the evil presence and phenomenon and that’s extremely disrespectful to the victim, to dismiss her tragedy as the ghost/haunted house story,” Berlinger told TheWrap.
Lam was a 21-year-old student visiting Los Angeles when she stayed at the notorious Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles in 2013. However, one day she disappeared without a trace, and 19 days later, she was found floating naked in a water...
“Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” delves into the mysterious death of Elisa Lam at the infamous hotel, and director Joe Berlinger said it was important for him to debunk the conspiracy theories surrounding her death out of respect for the victim.
“You need to be a good steward when telling someone’s tragedy — the past tellings of this story have hid behind the evil presence and phenomenon and that’s extremely disrespectful to the victim, to dismiss her tragedy as the ghost/haunted house story,” Berlinger told TheWrap.
Lam was a 21-year-old student visiting Los Angeles when she stayed at the notorious Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles in 2013. However, one day she disappeared without a trace, and 19 days later, she was found floating naked in a water...
- 2/10/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,” streaming now on Netflix.
From his “Paradise Lost” trilogy that began in 1996 to his 2009 documentary “Crude” that looked at the pollution of the Amazon, documentarian Joe Berlinger has spent a lot of time in his career and his personal philanthropy exposing false narratives and telling stories of wrongful convictions. But, he has also been interested in exploring how geography can impact criminal behaviors, such as in “Paradise Lost,” 2014’s “Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger” and 2019’s Netflix docuseries “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.” Now, he has teamed back up with the streamer for “Crime Scene,” a true crime docuseries that allows him to dig deeper into these elements than ever before.
The first season of “Crime Scene” is subtitled “The Vanishing at the Cecil...
From his “Paradise Lost” trilogy that began in 1996 to his 2009 documentary “Crude” that looked at the pollution of the Amazon, documentarian Joe Berlinger has spent a lot of time in his career and his personal philanthropy exposing false narratives and telling stories of wrongful convictions. But, he has also been interested in exploring how geography can impact criminal behaviors, such as in “Paradise Lost,” 2014’s “Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger” and 2019’s Netflix docuseries “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.” Now, he has teamed back up with the streamer for “Crime Scene,” a true crime docuseries that allows him to dig deeper into these elements than ever before.
The first season of “Crime Scene” is subtitled “The Vanishing at the Cecil...
- 2/10/2021
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
(Spoiler alert: Do not read on if you haven’t seen Netflix’s “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.”)
Elisa Lam was a 21-year-old student visiting Los Angeles for the first time when she mysteriously disappeared in 2013, and was found in a water tank of the Cecil Hotel in Downtown L.A. 19 days later.
Police later said there was no evidence of trauma and her death was accidental, even if the exact circumstances leading to her demise remain unknown. Nonetheless, theories on why Lam vanished and how she died have circled ever since. Some blame hotel guests and staff, other suggest she was hunted and murdered, and still others say she was playing a Korean game that took on a tragic dimension. That all might be because the hotel in question has been linked to several notable murders and suicides over its 94-year history.
Joe Berlinger’s “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel...
Elisa Lam was a 21-year-old student visiting Los Angeles for the first time when she mysteriously disappeared in 2013, and was found in a water tank of the Cecil Hotel in Downtown L.A. 19 days later.
Police later said there was no evidence of trauma and her death was accidental, even if the exact circumstances leading to her demise remain unknown. Nonetheless, theories on why Lam vanished and how she died have circled ever since. Some blame hotel guests and staff, other suggest she was hunted and murdered, and still others say she was playing a Korean game that took on a tragic dimension. That all might be because the hotel in question has been linked to several notable murders and suicides over its 94-year history.
Joe Berlinger’s “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel...
- 2/10/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
(Spoiler alert: Do not read on if you haven’t seen Netflix’s “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.”)
Netflix’s documentary “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” goes live on the streaming service Wednesday, and while the series focuses mostly on the Elisa Lam case, the Cecil Hotel is a Los Angeles landmark that has a haunted history dating back to the 1930s.
The 21-year-old student Elisa Lam, the subject of the Netflix series, is now the Cecil Hotel’s most famous lodger. Lam was found floating dead and naked in the hotel’s water tower on the roof in February 2013 after a brief stay. The last recorded moments of Lam’s life were captured by a now-famous elevator security camera video, which shows Lam frantically pressing all the door buttons and apparently speaking to someone out of view.
Lam’s case is still cold — a killer was never identified,...
Netflix’s documentary “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” goes live on the streaming service Wednesday, and while the series focuses mostly on the Elisa Lam case, the Cecil Hotel is a Los Angeles landmark that has a haunted history dating back to the 1930s.
The 21-year-old student Elisa Lam, the subject of the Netflix series, is now the Cecil Hotel’s most famous lodger. Lam was found floating dead and naked in the hotel’s water tower on the roof in February 2013 after a brief stay. The last recorded moments of Lam’s life were captured by a now-famous elevator security camera video, which shows Lam frantically pressing all the door buttons and apparently speaking to someone out of view.
Lam’s case is still cold — a killer was never identified,...
- 2/10/2021
- by Samson Amore and Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
In its fourth and final episode, “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” finally gets to its point.
After three episodes of unpacking the mysterious disappearance of Elisa Lam, the infamous Cecil Hotel in which she was last seen, the fraught history of downtown Los Angeles, and even several truly confusing “web sleuth” theories about what might have happened, the new Netflix series reaches a perhaps unsatisfying conclusion: that the simplest explanation is almost definitely the right one. This hour not only addresses all the reasons why this particular case got so much attention, but why that attention complicated everything about it beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. It’s surprisingly self-aware, and occasionally very smart about the intersections of local history, public interest and the infinite possibilities of the internet’s involvement.
So it’s really too bad that it takes three full episodes of melodrama and rampant conspiracy...
After three episodes of unpacking the mysterious disappearance of Elisa Lam, the infamous Cecil Hotel in which she was last seen, the fraught history of downtown Los Angeles, and even several truly confusing “web sleuth” theories about what might have happened, the new Netflix series reaches a perhaps unsatisfying conclusion: that the simplest explanation is almost definitely the right one. This hour not only addresses all the reasons why this particular case got so much attention, but why that attention complicated everything about it beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. It’s surprisingly self-aware, and occasionally very smart about the intersections of local history, public interest and the infinite possibilities of the internet’s involvement.
So it’s really too bad that it takes three full episodes of melodrama and rampant conspiracy...
- 2/9/2021
- by Caroline Framke
- Variety Film + TV
'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel' trailer is out now.
Netflix dropped the official trailer for the upcoming documentary series 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel' and it looks creepy enough.
Based on the horrifying real-life events that went down at the infamous Cecil Hotel, the series centers on the mysterious death of Elisa Lam who went missing in 2013, per Popsugar.
Directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the four-part series not only explores unsolved mystery surrounding Lam’s death, but also covers the history of Downtown Los Angeles, specifically the Skid Row area, and the Cecil Hotel, as well as examining the viral life the story took on thanks to web sleuths, per Slashfilm.
The official synopsis for 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel' is as follows: "For nearly a century the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los...
Netflix dropped the official trailer for the upcoming documentary series 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel' and it looks creepy enough.
Based on the horrifying real-life events that went down at the infamous Cecil Hotel, the series centers on the mysterious death of Elisa Lam who went missing in 2013, per Popsugar.
Directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the four-part series not only explores unsolved mystery surrounding Lam’s death, but also covers the history of Downtown Los Angeles, specifically the Skid Row area, and the Cecil Hotel, as well as examining the viral life the story took on thanks to web sleuths, per Slashfilm.
The official synopsis for 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel' is as follows: "For nearly a century the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los...
- 1/27/2021
- by Omkar Padte
- GlamSham
In today’s TV news roundup, BET sets a Tyler Perry special about the Covid-19 vaccine, and Netflix releases trailers for “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” and “Ginny & Georgia.”
Dates
Peacock will premiere “Archibald’s Next Big Thing Is Here” on Feb. 18 with all six episodes dropping at once. The show, which centers on Archibald Strutter, a chicken who “yes-and’s” his way through life but has adventures that rarely go as planned, hails from DreamWorks Animation. Created by Tony Hale, the voice cast features Hale, Adam Pally, Jordan Fisher, Chelsea Kane, Casey Wilson, Kari Wahlgren and Rosamund Pike. Watch a trailer below.
BET will air “Covid-19 Vaccine and the Black Community: A Tyler Perry Special” on Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. With a goal to address the public’s concerns about the Covid-19 vaccine, Perry met with Dr. Carlos del Rio and Dr. Kimberly Dyan Manning...
Dates
Peacock will premiere “Archibald’s Next Big Thing Is Here” on Feb. 18 with all six episodes dropping at once. The show, which centers on Archibald Strutter, a chicken who “yes-and’s” his way through life but has adventures that rarely go as planned, hails from DreamWorks Animation. Created by Tony Hale, the voice cast features Hale, Adam Pally, Jordan Fisher, Chelsea Kane, Casey Wilson, Kari Wahlgren and Rosamund Pike. Watch a trailer below.
BET will air “Covid-19 Vaccine and the Black Community: A Tyler Perry Special” on Jan. 28 at 9 p.m. With a goal to address the public’s concerns about the Covid-19 vaccine, Perry met with Dr. Carlos del Rio and Dr. Kimberly Dyan Manning...
- 1/27/2021
- by Haley Bosselman
- Variety Film + TV
On January 26, 2013, Canadian student Elisa Lam came to Los Angeles. She eventually checked into the run-down Cecil Hotel located in Downtown Los Angeles. But by January 31, 2013, she had vanished, seemingly into thin air. There was no record of Lam checking out of the hotel, and all the police really had to go on […]
The post ‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel’ Trailer: What Happened to Elisa Lam? appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel’ Trailer: What Happened to Elisa Lam? appeared first on /Film.
- 1/26/2021
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Room service? More like, doom service. On Tuesday, Jan. 26, Netflix dropped the first look at its latest true crime documentary series, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel. Season one of the series, which will premiere on February 10, will unpack the dark history of Downtown Los Angeles' Cecil Hotel (aka "Hotel Death.") In the just-released footage below, a voice-over warns, "Throughout its history, the Hotel Cecil has always had a dark persona." Per the preview, the infamous hotel was "a place where serial killers let their hair down." Case in point: Serial killer Richard Ramirez, whose twisted story is examined in Netflix's documentary Night Stalker: The Hunt For a...
- 1/26/2021
- E! Online
Zak Bagans and his “Ghost Adventures” team kicked off the new year with a trip inside the infamous Cecil Hotel, and now Netflix will also be taking a trip to that infamous location. Netflix will be premiering the brand new docuseries “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” on February 10, and the official trailer and poster art have arrived […]...
- 1/26/2021
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
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