making a murderer
Netflix NFLX +8.55% is no stranger to successful shows, and many of them have had their moment in the sun at one point or another the past few years. House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bojack Horseman, Master of None, Daredevil, Jessica Jones. All of these shows have been released, binged and entered into the pop culture lexicon, the subject of discussion for at least a week or two after release, given the binge-watch nature of the service.
But Making a Murderer is different.
Not just because the genre has switched from scripted drama and comedy to a true crime documentary. But because this is the first Netflix show that seems to have completely consumed its viewerbase from top to bottom. Though many of the shows mentioned above are popular, they have pretty specific audiences. But Making a Murderer? The story of Steve Avery has seemed to hook pretty much everyone who has laid eyes on it.
The question is not if you’ve seen Making a Murderer yet. It’s how long did it take you to watch it? A week? That’s insane. Three days? That’s more like it. One day? There you go.
I have never seen a show consume the pop culture conversation like this outside of when programs like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones kill off a major character. Everyone on my Facebook FB +0.00% and Twitter TWTR +0.00% is talking about it (two very, very different groups), and all my friends have seen it as well. My wife and I spent about two hours of a three hour dinner party with our friends last night talking not about their newly announced baby, but about Making a Murderer, and just how enraged the show has made us.
And we’re not alone.
avery
Recommended by Forbes