Jonathan Majors · Griselda · Crime Junkie
What are you watching this weekend?
the true crime that's worth your time
Are you getting on the Chowchilla bus? OK, that’s a crack in terrible taste, and I’m sorry I made it. But I’m wondering if there’s much left to mine in the 1976 mass kidnapping of 26 kids. It’s a strange story, and the ending isn’t as tragic as it could have been, but calling it “forgotten,” as CNN does in a press release, seems odd. Maybe this is just my California bias speaking, but when that Central Valley city’s name comes up, it’s all I think about!
This CNN/HBO collab claims to “reveal for the first time the complete saga of the infamous school bus abduction,” an assertion I find pretty difficult to believe. I’m hopeful the show looks at the long-term impact the trauma had on the abducted kids, as that could provide actual value. It airs on CNN on Sunday night, and streams on CNN’s various platforms the next day.
Fatal Family Feuds is the non-prestige-y kind of true crime content we all grew up with and what keeps Oxygen going today. So, arguably, a new option for “comfort viewing” or TV to nap to when it launches Saturday night. Here’s the series pitch: “what happens when the ties that bind become the ties that divide? When your inner circle becomes your biggest enemy? Where disagreements around the dinner table can only be solved by violence?” (If I were the PR team, I might have rethought that last presupposition, but I’m the guy who just made a Chowchilla bus joke so my house is pretty glassy.)
The kickoff ep is about 28-year-old Anson "Buzz" Clinton, who, per Oxygen:
…lived on the wild side in his youth, enjoying the night life and even dabbling as an exotic dancer. After marrying the love of his life and dedicating himself to raising her daughter as his own, Buzz welcomed the challenge to enter adulthood. But he would never get the chance as one night he is gunned down on a dark desolate road. Buzz's family tell investigators to look into his in-laws, who never liked him and didn't believe he was fit to raise their granddaughter. But the in-laws had an alibi.
I don’t…hate this, even as I think the packaging is pretty silly (aren’t you more likely to be killed by someone in your inner circle than not?). There’s something to be said for all these hustling little shows that highlight non-high-profile crimes; I’d rather hear about Buzz the male stripper than the Murdaughs — especially if Clinton’s survivors were willing participants in the show.
Wild Crime: Blood Mountain dropped its four-part series on Hulu yesterday, and I’m likely to take a look today while on the treadmill. It’s about the 2008 disappearance of Meredith Emerson as she hiked in a state park, as case I started thinking about when I worked on a piece about missing hiker search book Trail of the Lost earlier this year. Based on this ABC promo piece on the show, it weaves in other missing hiker stories as well, making that a solid fit in my area of interest.
What about you? Are you checking any of these out — or do you have some other true crime on your plate? We want to hear! — EB
Hearsay
Netflix just dropped a new trailer for Griselda. The six-part dramatic adaptation of the story of so-called Cocaine Godmother Griselda Blanco (spoiler: the real Blanco sure doesn’t look like Griselda star Sofía Vergara) is from the folks that brought us the first couple seasons of Narcos. It’s being heavily pitched as “you’ve never seen Sofía Vergara like this before!” which is true as I mainly know her from Pantene and Pepsi commercials. But, like, good for her — how often does an arguable bombshell get offered a chance to do something different with her career at age 51? It drops on January 25 and I think I might be into it? — EB
Sopranos actor among prospective NYC jurors in Jonathan Majors’ domestic assault trial [NY Post]
Just selection concluded Thursday for the trial of Marvel star Jonathan Majors; testimony is scheduled to begin on Monday. But the Post had an interesting little side note from the selection process: Yul Vasquez, described as a Sopranos actor but who I think of as a major player in Russian Doll, Severance, and The Outsider (OK, I guess the Post’s recognizability/SEO call makes sense) was in the jury poll. He was excused after telling the judge that he has “serious problems” with people who harm women. I’m always into “notable person at jury duty” stories, I guess they’re my personal “Stars, they’re just like us!” — EB
Apple and Spotify have revealed their top podcasts of 2023. Here is what they do — and don’t — tell us. [The Verge]
”True crime is in large part driven by women listeners, which contributes to the high rankings of Crime Junkie, Dateline NBC, and Morbid on Apple,” Ariel Shapiro writes in analysis. It’s notable that Crime Junkie is one of the only podcasts to appear on both platforms’ lists — Shapiro argues that Spoitfy’s demo are young, celeb-seeking listeners, but Crime Junkie is sixth on its list (it’s number one on Apple, which has a user base that reportedly skews older). — EB
New York Film Critics Circle Names ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ as Best Film of 2023 [The Hollywood Reporter]
Is KOTFM the highest-profile true crime property of 2023? I’m struggling to think of any other work from this year that came close, and I’m running dry. As we ease into awards season, we’re going to be hearing about this movie even more — and along with that, arguments over who gets to tell certain stories and how they should do it. I’m excited for those discussions, as they’re all long overdue, but will say that I do believe that Killers is one of Scorsese’s most thoughtful works, and one that I believe tries harder to depict the story its based on than some of this other fact-based films. The awards attention it’s getting is, in my opinion, well-deserved. — EB
Bills star Von Miller released after Dallas police issue arrest warrant [The Athletic]
A day after our The Docket episode on the intersection of sports and crime dropped, another arrest in the sphere: Buffalo Bills edge rusher Von Miller turned himself in after Dallas police issued an arrest warrant in his name. On Wednesday, police were called to the scene of a “major disturbance” and determined that he’d assaulted a woman at the home. According to ESPN, “the woman and Miller have been in a relationship for seven years and have children together,” and she’s since characterized the incident as a misunderstanding and denied that an assault took place. The ESPN report goes into all the details of the alleged assault, so be aware of your triggers before you click.
The alleged victim is pregnant, which increases possible penalties in Texas. Miller was previously arrested in an amorphously characterized incident in a Denver suburb during his time with the Broncos. He was not charged in that case. The Bills say in a statement that they are “in the process of gathering more information and will have no further comment at this point”; the NFL says via statement that “We are aware of the matter and have been in contact with the club. We will follow all legal developments. We have no further comment at this time.”— EB
Next week on Best Evidence: Bros, gun research, and Gotti.
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