Back in 2005, directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos were inspired by a newspaper article about Steven Avery, an outsider who was convicted of assault and locked away for 18 years. After he was exonerated by DNA evidence, he was rightly upset that he had been targeted by the police for the crime. He filed a lawsuit that threatened to expose the corruption in local law enforcement and had the potential to award him millions of dollars.
But two years after he had been set free, Avery was back in court, this time charged with murder. Did Avery commit this crime or is he being framed by the police as a result of his lawsuit? The filmmakers have been tracking this story for 10 years, documenting every angle of this tale and following the second investigation and subsequent court case.
“There are an unbelievable number of twists and turns in the story arc of Making a Murderer, it feels like it has to be fictional,” said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP of Original Documentary Programming. “Ricciardi and Demos have navigated very complex terrain and skillfully woven together an incredible series that leaves you feeling like you?re right in the middle of the action.”
“If we had not been there to witness these events we would have trouble believing they actually occurred. Our goal has always been to share that experience with viewers. Our partnership with Netflix has allowed us to tell this story in a way that wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else,” said directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos.
MAKING A MURDERER will stream on Netflix on December 18.
