It’s been a fraught few years since the first season of Making A Murderer changed the documentary game for good.
In the time since, questions surrounding Steven Avery, Brendan Dassey and the murder they may or may not have committed have never really been put to bed.
Though we’ve had many more series trying to fill the documentary-shaped hole in our lives, such as The Staircase, The Keepers and Casting JonBenet to name but a few, Making A Murderer seemed to capture the audience’s attention like none other, meaning a second part was desperately needed.
Now, the good news is that a follow up is now definitely happening, and furthermore, we have a full trailer to whet the appetite.
Check it out:
The new instalment sees Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos return to the Midwest, where they have exclusive access to Steven Avery and his co-defendant and nephew Brendan Dassey, their families and the legal teams fighting for justice on their behalf.
Over the course of the 10 new episodes, Making A Murderer Part 2 provides an in-depth look at the high-stakes, post-conviction process, exploring the emotional toll the process takes on all involved.
Part two introduces viewers to Kathleen Zellner, Avery’s post-conviction lawyer, in her fight to prove that Avery was wrongly convicted and win his freedom. Ricciardi and Demos follow Zellner, who has righted more wrongful convictions than any private attorney in America, as she tirelessly works the case and uncovers unexpected evidence about what may have happened to Teresa Halbach and about how and why the jury convicted Steven of her murder.
Ricciardi and Demos also follow Dassey’s post-conviction lawyers, Laura Nirider and Steven Drizin with Northwestern University’s Centre on Wrongful Convictions of Youth, as they fight in federal court to prove their client’s confession was involuntary, a fight that could take Brendan’s case all the way to the US Supreme Court.
You can remind yourself of the first part here:
Emmy award winning series creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos have made the following statement:
Steven and Brendan, their families and their legal and investigative teams have once again graciously granted us access, giving us a window into the complex web of American criminal justice,
Building on Part 1, which documented the experience of the accused, in Part 2, we have chronicled the experience of the convicted and imprisoned, two men each serving life sentences for crimes they maintain they did not commit. We are thrilled to be able to share this new phase of the journey with viewers.
Vice president of Netflix’s Original Documentary Programming, Lisa Nishimura, said:
Because of Ricciardi’s and Demos’ incredible vision, commitment and keen eye, audiences around the globe became completely captivated by the personal stories of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey and the unique lens their experiences provide into the criminal justice system.
We’re thrilled to be continuing our longstanding relationship with the filmmakers, and look forward to giving our global viewers eagerly anticipated updates on this story.
October 19 can’t come soon enough!
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.