Netflix's latest true crime docuseries Catching Killers sits among a myriad of other true crime content, but this series is different than the others. Right now it seems like everyone is obsessed with true crime and serial killers in particular. Fans flock to YouTube channels like Bailey Sarian's delectably binge-able "Murder Mystery & Makeup" and streaming services offer shows like The Keepers and Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. Movies like Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile or My Friend Dahmer give actors the opportunity to flex their creative muscles as they inhabit the dark spirits of some of America's most notorious serial killers. There's no question that true crime has the public entranced at the moment.
Thus far Catching Killers hasn't covered the infamous Ted Bundy. Rather, the show has four episodes chronicling three different killers. The first episode, aptly titled "Body Count", covers the case of Gary Ridgway aka The Green River Killer. Ridgway is convicted of 48 separate murders in the state of Washington. Episode number 2 "Manhunter" chronicles the story of Aileen Wuornos. She's convicted of killing seven men in the state of Florida. The final two episodes, "True Lies Part 1 & 2", explore the initial fake confessions and eventual arrest of Keith Hunter Jesperson: the Happy Face Killer. Jesperson is responsible for murdering eight women scattered across the U.S. So how is this docuseries any different than the rest?
While most true crime shows are railroaded for glorifying serial killers and murder, Catching Killers instead puts the focus on how the crimes affect the investigators and detectives involved with the cases. In the first episode, Detective Dave Reichert gives the most emotional recount of the hopelessness detectives felt as the hunt grew longer and longer, and the body count kept rising and rising. Viewers feel a sense of triumph when Detective Tom Jensen is able to take over as Sherriff and finally put the 19-year case to bed. Lieutenant Mike Joyner is the stand-out hero from episode two when through his convincing work while undercover, the seasoned cop is able to capture Aileen Wuornos at a bar. In the final two episodes, the detectives work hard to separate fact from fiction. They go through intense highs and lows, eliciting at first a false confession from an innocent woman and her abusive husband.
It's a far cry from Netflix's Ted Bundy Tapes. Rather than listen to a convicted murderer talk about himself and his horrifying psychology for an hour, the stories are more about the detectives. Catching Killers does feature some reenactments and the occasional video or audio of the murderer, but this is hardly the focal point of the show. By switching the spotlight around, it gives audiences a wider scope with which to think about these crimes. Often police take the blame for botched or shoddy investigative work, without much thought given to the intricacies of the case.
It's in a refreshing new way that Catching Killers tackles true crime, and it is hopeful to see that focus is being taken away from the murderers and put more upon the people whose lives were affected by their crimes. Older cases, like that of the infamous Ed Gein, probably won't be covered simply because of the timing; it's doubtful the investigators from these types of cases are still around. As more and more true crime shows will inevitably arise, maybe there will finally be one that puts the focus where it belongs: on the victims.