By now, I'm sure you've heard of a little show on Netflix called Making a Murderer. If you're more of a listening type, you might have checked out the Serial podcast. Cable networks are also jumping on the True Crime bandwagon with The People v. O.J. Simpson on FX and The Jinx on HBO. The fascination with true stories of murder, partcularly in the media, is hardly a new phenomenon, but the genre seems to be experiencing a new surge in popularity lately. Just what is it about these stories that piques our morbid curiosity? I could spend a whole article on that question alone, but first, let's take a look at how each of the above approaches its subject.

Making a Murderer

This documentary series began streaming on Netflix in December and has generated a heaping helping of social media buzz with a side of controversy. For those don't know, the series, written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, takes a look at the case of Steven Avery who was charged with the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005 after serving an eighteen year sentence for the 1985 sexual assault of Penny Beerntsen. The controversy lies in the filmmakers' treatment of the facts in order to make the case that Avery was again falsely charged with a crime and deserves a retrial. According to Ricciardi and Demos' interpretation of the case, prosecutors and the sheriffs department of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin conspired to frame Avery.The prosecution may have gone out of their way to make Avery into a murderer, but a number of critics have accused the filmmakers of stretching the truth in order to paint a picture of innocence.

The Jinx

In contrast, the director of this HBO mini-series, Andrew Jarecki, finds his subject, Robert Durst, guilty. Durst, heir to a real-estate fortune, was suspected in three crimes: the disappearance of his wife in 1982, the murder of Susan Berman in 2000, and the murder and dismemberment of his neighbor, Morris Black in 2001. After ducking the media for years, Durst consented to be interviewed by Jarecki. They talked for a total of 20 hours, spread out over several years, but we don't see footage from those interviews in the first episode. From the moment you first see Durst, you can tell there's something cold and sinister about him in the way he carries himself and in the blackness of his eyes. This is a man you want to see brought down.

Serial

The host of this podcast, Sarah Koenig, takes a more journalistic approach to the story of the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, presumably at the hands of Adnan Syed, her ex-boyfriend. Syed may have been wrongfully accused, so Koenig and her team use techniques of investigative journalism to uncover any truths that might have fallen through the cracks during the formal investigation and trial. What sets Serial apart from the previous examples is the host's skepticism. Koenig had no preconceived notions of Syed's guilt or innocence, and is still not entirely convinced either way. The appeal could also lie in the fact that she was in as much suspense on where the investigation would lead as the listeners.

The People v. OJ Simpson

I've saved the most recent for last. Cuba Gooding, Jr. stars as OJ Simpson in this dramatization of the most sensationalized trial of the last century. In 1994, Simpson, a former NFL superstar and aspiring actor (The Naked Gun movies stand out to me) was accused in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend/possible lover, Ron Goldman at her home in Brentwood, an affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles. The show's creators are less interested in the murder and trial than they are in the intersecting lines of race, class, celebrity, and justice, as well as the clash of egos between (and among) the defense and prosecution. There's an emphasis on the details that the public wasn't exposed to before and during the 24/7 spectacle the trial would become. Celebrity obsessed viewers may also take interest in Simpson's ties to the Kardashians.

It's hard not to feel somewhat voyeuristic when getting absorbed in these stories, like you're intruding on the grief or shame of the victims' and perpetrators' families. To some extent, they are forced to relive that emotional distress when the cases are dragged back into the public eye, even when they are revisited in a tasteful way. It's important for creators and their audience to remember that these things really happened and need to be treated responsibly, not reduced to mindless entertainment (which most of my examples don't seem to be) or propaganda, as MaM's filmmakers have been accused of. Enter into these series with a healthy dose of skepticism.