Netflix Shot Itself: How Unsolved Mysteries Went Downhill, Fast
Unsolved Mysteries is back for another cycle of cases, but fans are not thrilled with changes to the show’s 3 decade-old format
It Wasn’t Broke, They Fixed It Anyway
When Netflix announced that they were saving the second cycle of Unsolved Mysteries for October, many were elated at the chance to feel true fright this spooky season. After fans gobbled the first chunk of episodes in their reboot of the series, many were particularly ready to gobble up more unsolved mysteries like a bag of candy bought on sale at Target. There is something about learning that a murderer is still at large, that a paranormal might be among us, that justice has not yet been served, that makes the hair on the back of one’s neck stand so much more than any slasher flick could.
The show might not feel as old as The Simpsons or the US release of The Legend of Zelda, but Unsolved Mysteries is a show that the public could not quit. The show spent ten years on NBC, three years on CBS, two years on Lifetime, and three more on Spike (now Paramount). Now on Netflix, Unsolved Mysteries changes the only format fans have known for 30 years. These format changes include:
· No host to guide the show’s transitions
· Only 1 mystery per hour-long episode as opposed 4 segments
· A focus on older unsolved mysteries as opposed to recently committed crimes
· Very little dramatizations or none at all
· This may be forthcoming, but as of now, no updates on recently solved mysteries
The format changes feel like Netflix’s attempt to keep the show within Netflix’s brand more than anything. Multi-part documentaries and filmed adaptions of murder-related podcasts are some of Netflix’s bread and butter, so making Unsolved Mysteries fit in with their style and their customer is fitting.
Season 1 of Unsolved Mysteries started strong. People are still wondering how on earth Rey fell through the steel roof in “Mystery On A Rooftop.” Dozens of people have used #RobkilledPatrice on Twitter, because they feel they have solved episode 2’s mystery, and are calling for #JusticeforAlonzo after seeing potential racial injustice in “No Ride Home.”
What stood out from the pack was the season’s fourth episode, “Berkshires UFO.” It wasn’t that the pivot into the supernatural was boring, it’s that there was not enough evidence and material to fill these long episodes that Netflix is going for with their reimagining of the show.
The “Non-Episodes” of Unsolved Mysteries
Cycle 2 of Unsolved Mysteries comes in hot. “Washington Inside Murder” brings that same level of viral awe that the show is known for and that the first chunk of season 1 did well at replicating. Instead of falling through a steel roof, a man ends up in a dumpster. Aside from this episode and “Lady In The Lake,” every episode in Unsolved Mysteries felt like a bit of a non-episode. The episodes feel more like the UFO-themed episode from the first part of the season. There is not enough content to sustain for the full runtime of the episode.
For example, the second episode in Cycle 2 of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries, “Death In Oslo,” features an already popular case in which a woman is found dead in her hotel room with no record of who she is. There is so little information about the case that Netflix follow a man around who tells viewers why he is so interested in the case rather than interviewing witnesses and family members like a typical episode. The first twenty minutes were interesting, but after the initial shock of the situation, the remainder of the episode comes off as filler.
“Tsunami Spirits” has a similar effect to Berkshire UFO, except the episode is about hundreds of potential ghosts after a terrible natural disaster in Japan. The show interviewed a handful of people who have lost someone or had strange experiences, and the episode comes off as sad more than anything.
“Death Row Fugitive” and “Stolen Kids” were both frightful in their own rights, but the cases feel so old that there is only so much evidence that can be gone over for the duration of the episode. The most relevant evidential bits are saved for the end — computer mockups of what a fugitive and kidnapped children might look like today.
Perhaps the pandemic has halted interviews and location filming efforts. Many shows, however, have been able to adapt and include virtual meetups and interviews, so this does not fully excuse the second half of the reboot’s first season for being so lackluster compared to its start. Four of the six episodes in Cycle 2 of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries would work better a single episode, segmented into four parts, just like the OG Unsolved Mysteries.
A Revival With Legacy
It’s no mystery as to why Unsolved Mysteries has come back to us . Our justice system needs work, and the show has done everything it could to help fill the gaps. Hopefully Season 2 of Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries will give us some solved cases. They’ve received over 5,000 tips so far, so hopefully this means at least one of these twelve sources of tension are eased. Or perhaps the show will explore solved mysteries from its prior 14 seasons, giving us the Update screen we are growing to miss.
Viewers are able to submit their own cases to Netflix for consideration, so it looks like the show is not going anywhere just yet. Evolving into the Netflix brand even more, there will be an Unsolved Mysteries podcast premiering in 2021.
Netflix may have shot itself in the foot with the changes they made to Unsolved Mysteries, but thankfully Netflix kept the theme song, which is chilling as ever and still fun to hear when part of you is under a blanket. More importantly, underserved victims of criminal activity are still being heard. May their voices and stories bring the truth that is needed and the pece that is deserved.
