I'll Be Gone in the Dark

Starring: Patton Oswalt (6 episodes), Paul Haynes (6 episodes), Lauren Orlando (6 episodes), Amy Ryan (voice) (6 episodes), Melanie Barbeau (5 episodes), Larry Crompton (4 episodes), Paul Holes (4 episodes), Karen Kilgariff (4 episodes), Kris Pedretti (4 episodes), Nancy Miller (3 episodes), Richard Shelby (3 episodes), Daniel Greenberg (3 episodes), Billy Jensen (3 episodes), Jennifer Barth (3 episodes), Gay Hardwick (3 episodes), Bob Hardwick (3 episodes)
Directed by: Elizabeth Wolff (3 episodes), Liz Garbus (2 episodes), Myles Kane (2 episodes), Josh Coury (2 episodes),
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Documentary
Total Episodes: 7
2020-2021

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Michelle McNamara joins professionals and amateurs across the country to hunt for the Golden State Killer.

Review:
Tim: I read and loved Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark. It was a well-written, personal, and shocking account of a monster who terrorized California for decades and yet escaped the notoriety of the worst criminals in America. It's an unbelievable story and I so appreciate McNamara putting in the effort to bring this story to a wide audience. The book is also heartbreaking because of McNamara's untimely death. I really enjoyed the book and immediately after launched into this series. I was a little unsure what that experience would be like- was this series just a straight adaptation? If so, I just finished the book. Would that impact my experience? Brilliantly, this series acts more as a companion piece. It certainly touches on much that the book covers, but we get to hear from the victims, we see the locations. Even better, it expands on the book, revealing more about McNamara's life. And, best of all, it offers a conclusion to the story that remains open-ended from the book. I truly believe this is the way to do it- read the book, immediately watch the series. It offers a powerful experience and both the series and the book make each other better.

It's rare that something like this exists. You have an excellent book about the hunt for a serial rapist and killer who has evaded arrest for decades. You have a woman partnering with law enforcement and true crime enthusiasts from around the country to bring him to justice. Her story is marked by personal tragedy. You have celebrities involved (her husband is the very talented Patton Oswalt). And now, in addition to the book, there's this powerful HBO series that expands on the book and provides a fitting conclusion. I would just so highly recommend people get into this.

The series is well done. It offers the victims an opportunity to have their voices heard, and for those (like me) intrigued and sickened by the Golden State Killer, it allows us to get a clearer picture of things than even the book provided. Getting to see the locations of some of the crimes, to put a face to the names of the victims, to physically hear their stories, it all helped me to understand the reality of the events in a way that was complimentary to the book.

The series tells its story in 6 episodes, which felt right to me. There was no sense of this being overly long. Each episode was packed with information and you feel yourself get sucked into the investigation. Although I wish desperately that McNamara was alive to tell her own story, the series does an effective job of getting her voice out. Amy Ryan does a fantastic job narrating for McNamara and Oswalt represented his late wife extremely well.

I suppose I could go on, but I just want to say that I'll Be Gone in the Dark is well worth your time. It offers an in depth look at a sickening monster and those who sought justice for the victims, some for literal decades. It's challenging and fascinating and will make you want to invest in additional locks for your house. I really enjoyed the book and this series pulls off the rare feat of making me like the book more, while also standing on its own as a great piece of television.

* Update- I was really surprised and excited to see that HBO added a 7th episode to this miniseries, in June 2021. While I didn't love this extra episode as much as the original six, it still felt like an added bonus. The most noteworthy aspect of the episode is an update on the Golden State Killer. We see that human monster piece of trash during sentencing. We see his living victims getting to confront him for his crimes. We also get more insight into the manipulative con artist he is. It was riveting to see this monster in court, complete with social distancing and masks due to the pandemic. That aspect of the episode was the strongest and the most relevant. The rest of the episode dives deeper into the case that propelled Michelle McNamara into a life focused on true crime. The episode seems to suggest there's a big update, but this fell flat. It was interesting to see the episode dive deeper into a crime that the book discussed. Similar to the original six, we understand this at a deeper level than what the book gave us. I don't think there was anything shocking or especially revelatory about this, though. It shined a light on this horrible, still unsolved crime, but it also felt like a bit of filler. Still, I don't want to judge this episode too harshly. It furthers the legacy of McNamara and it adds more detail to the Golden State Killer's story. I wasn't expecting this episode, but I'm glad we got it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Aquarius, O.J.: Made in America