Netflix’s New True Crime Series Focuses on the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

The disappearance of Madeleine McCann will be the subject of a new eight-part true crime documentary series set to air on Netflix, following in the footsteps of its breakout hit Making A Murderer. One of the most well-known missing person cases of the last decade, Madeleine was just three years old when she went missing in the Portuguese tourist resort of Praia de Luz. She was taken from her hotel room as she slept alongside her twin younger siblings, while her parents were eating dinner at a restaurant close-by. The new Netflix series will speak to high profile investigators involved in the case, attempting to piece together the events of that fateful night in 2007, no doubt spurring on a new group of armchair detectives.

The McCann case has remained in the headlines for the past decade thanks to the continued calls for information from her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, as well as numerous false leads and reported sightings. Indeed, it is a story that has captured the imagination of the world, with everyone having an opinion about who “did” it. The Portuguese police and the McCanns themselves have frequently been the subject of criticism, with some saying the former were incompetent and the latter were negligent.

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Netflix has form when it comes to true crime. The aforementioned Making A Murderer set a precedent when it was released at the end of 2015, with the nation binge-watching it during the post-Christmas lull of January. It followed the curious case of Steven Avery, who was acquitted of rape after serving 18 years in prison, only to go on to be imprisoned for the murder of Theresa Holbach. Renewed interest in the case brought about my the series led to the court overturning the conviction of his nephew Brendan Dassey, who was sentenced alongside him.

Another high profile case that Netflix has capitalized on was that of American student Amanda Knox, who was imprisoned and freed twice for the murder of her British flatmate Meredith Kircher. Most recently, there has been The Keepers, which looked into historic sex crimes perpetuated by the Catholic Church in Baltimore, which is believed to have led to the death of nun Cathy Cesnik.

This post was written by Rebecca Cope. It originally appeared on our sister site, Grazia Daily.