‘Making a Murderer’ Filmmakers Say They Expected Backlash

When asked more specifically about the news reports of domestic abuse allegations from his ex-girlfriends (which are allegedly backed up with police records), Ricciardi likened it to the media backlash Avery faced ahead of his murder trial. “Just because someone is coming forward now with a narrative, their interpretation of something doesn’t make it factual, doesn’t make it true”. “Steven does not have access to this series”, said Ricciardi, explaining that the warden denied his request to see the documentary. We set out to examine the criminal justice system and how it’s functioning today. Except for a handful of details about her personal life and a short video clip in which Teresa is seen talking about her life, Halbach-and how she met her grisly fate-has been mostly a mystery to us. The question, she said, was if they left out significant details that impact the integrity of the work. And so, we took our cues from the prosecution [and] what they thought was the most compelling evidence. “[We] don’t have a stake in his innocence or guilt”.

“How is any of that relevant to this individuals’ right to a fair trial”, Demos said.

“This story is ongoing”.

Responding to criticism that key evidence was omitted from the docuseries, Demos said the following, according to TV Guide: “It would have been impossible for us to submit every piece of evidence”. These cases are open. “You really need to engage”, Nishimura said. We are ready to follow these.

When asked about the possibility of new episodes, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told reporters at the TCA tour: ‘The story is still unfolding so we’ll certainly take a look at it’.

Ricciardi said she approached the story as a filmmaker, not a lawyer. Nishimura says she met the filmmakers in 2013 and praised their commitment and rigor in completing the project over 10 years.

“As we were producing the episodes, it became very clear that they demand your attention, they’re very dense”. At the moment, she said, nothing concrete is planned. Demos and Ricciardi are “in the family”, so to speak.

Demos agreed, “What we document in the series is a long list of irregularities …”

“It was a remarkable turn of events in the last couple of weeks of the year”, Sarandos said, “where I think that it was that insane combination of super-addictive television and time to watch it. So people were watching it, and then telling their friends who also had time to watch it during the holiday break, and people were just obsessed with it. I think there must be something genetic in us that we’re like natural-born detectives, and we love to watch these shows”. Well-received previous episodic docuseries Chef’s Table was more of an anthology.

The documentary series, which Ricciardi and co-director Moira Demos spent close to a decade filming, suggests the justice system made numerous errors, some seemingly intentional, in both the cases against Avery.