Anyone with a Netflix account already knows that the platform has a monopoly on serial killer-themed entertainment. Two pieces on Ted Bundy, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” and “Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” made waves last year. Other shows like the David Fincher-led “Mindhunter” fit the bill for crime dramas that specialize in this kind of fare. Even fan-favorite “Hannibal” has made its way onto Netflix this year, with (very wishful) rumors of a fourth season.
Netflix looks to continue the trend in 2021 with “Night Stalker: The Hunt for A Serial Killer,” its latest limited series on serial killers. Like “Conversations With A Killer,” the series is a four-part documentary that breaks down the crimes and capture of a devious murderer that, for a time, haunted the United States with his vicious crimes. This time, however, it’s all about Richard Ramirez.
“Night Stalker” documents the true story of Ramirez’s killing spree and apprehension in Los Angeles during the summer of 1985. Richard Ramirez’s crimes defied criminal profiling at the time. His assaults and murders covered different ages, racial backgrounds, and socioeconomic statuses, and baffled investigators with his apparent lack of pattern. The series covers how young detective Gil Carrillo and famous homicide investigator Frank Salerno caught Ramirez as he held California under his influence — and how the local media followed their every move.
READ MORE: David Fincher Explains Why ‘Mindhunter’ Ended Too Soon: “I Was Exhausted”
Tiller Russell directs, with Russell, Tim Walsh, Eli Holzman, and Aaron Saidman serving as executive producers. The limited series will also be plush with first-person interviews, archival footage, and original photography to help document a city under terror as a killer stalks its streets.
The series premieres on January 13, 2021, only on Netflix. Subscribers of the platform will get their fix for charismatic killers then.