Making a Murderer was the documentary series about a criminal case released on Netflix in 2015 that became a global phenomenon. Created by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, the series examined the cases of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey in Wisconsin.
The first season premiered on Netflix on December 18, 2015. It focused on Avery's wrongful 1985 conviction for sexual assault and attempted murder, his release after 18 years in prison, and his later arrest and conviction in the 2005 killing of Teresa Halbach. The filmmakers had followed the story for roughly a decade, giving the series an unusually detailed timeline.
The show generated intense public debate about police investigations, forensic evidence, courtroom procedure and the reliability of convictions. A petition seeking a presidential pardon for Avery reportedly gathered more than 500,000 signatures, although the case was a state matter beyond the president's pardon authority.
“Making a Murderer” is sometimes confused with “The Jinx” or the podcast “Serial,” which also became influential true-crime works. Those projects covered different cases and were not the Netflix series described here.