The #1 Reason Netflix’s Catching Killers Is So Binge-able

There are a couple of reasons Netflix’s newest true crime docuseries, Catching Killers, is so binge-able. For one thing, it’s short, only four episodes. Well, technically three because one of the cases is a two-part episode.

However, the number one reason Catching Killers is so absorbing is because of the first-person interviews. It’s always enlightening hearing from those involved in solving some of America’s biggest serial killer cases. But what is it about the people in these episodes in particular?

I don’t know. I think maybe the raw emotion they show, the humanity, and their vulnerability. Maybe I’ll figure it out as we quickly review what the series is all about and which cases it follows.

About Catching Killers

Here’s the synopsis from the trailer:

The investigators behind infamous serial killer cases reveal the harrowing, chilling details of their extraordinary efforts in this true crime series.

Catching Killers Episodes

As I mentioned above, this four-episode true crime documentary series examines three cases. At 41 minutes, the longest is the first episode, “Body Count: The Green River Killer.” The last one is 31 minutes, making it the shortest, “True Lies, Part 2: The Happy Face Killer.” (Part 1 is 35 minutes.)

So that’s two of the cases covered. The second episode comprises the third case, “Manhunter: Aileen Wuornos.” (Which is 39 minutes long.)

The Faces of Catching Killers

If you’re a fan of true crime, especially serial killer cases and shows about them, you may recognize some of those interviewed in Catching Killers.

They include lead detective Dave Reichert (The Capture of the Green River Killer, Beyond Reasonable Doubt), Multonomah County detective John Ingram (Mind of a Monster), deputy district attorney Jim McIntyre (Crime Stories), former detective sergeant Brian Jarvis (Reel Crime/Real Story, Aileen Wuornos: Selling of a Serial Killer), journalist Phil Stanford (Without Evidence, Murder in Oregon, Kids of Killers), former detective Fae Brooks (Beyond Reasonable, Mind of a Monster) Doubt, Steve Binegar (Serial Killers), lieutenant Mike Joyner (Mind of a Monster, Serial Killers), detective Tom Jensen (Unsolved Mysteries, Cold Case Files).

What all of these people had to say about their contributions to solving these cases was interesting. But a few got choked up and/or emotional and showed a vulnerability that was both surprising and endearing.

Dave Reichert made me laugh with his exuberance at finally catching Gary Ridgway, a.k.a. the Green River Killer. It took almost 20 years and happened thanks to advances in forensics. But he also impressed me with his fierce determination to never giving up on bringing the killer to justice.

Fae Brooks’s perspective as one of the only women on the Green River Killer case was also very interesting. She brought a unique perspective that’s often missing from investigations because she had worked sex crimes at the time. However, sometimes she was brought on to assist in larger cases, and that’s what happened with the Green River Killer case. She had worked with some of Ridgway’s victims before they ended up being murdered.

John Ingram’s testimony was particularly heartwrenching. It’s clear he still feels tortured for falsely arresting Laverne Pavlinac after she first implicated her boyfriend, John Sosnovske, in the killing of 23-year-old Taunja Bennett, then said she was an accomplice. Ingram knew it felt wrong, but she had confessed. What else could he do except ignore his instincts and follow orders and arrest her?

And the dynamic between Ingram, Jim McIntyre, and Phil Stanford was like watching the stereotypical pissing match between police, journalists, and attorneys you read in books or see on TV shows and in the movies. Except they had butted heads in real-life, and none were shy about admitting it. But McIntyre and Stanford were the most colorful about how they explained their “no love lost” relationship.

Then there was seeing the footage of Mike Joyner in undercover action as they busted Aileen Wuornos. Whoa. If they gave Oscars for those kinds of performances? He would surely have been nominated —and probably even won.

Talk about a character! Who may have also had a career as a self-help guru.

While at a bar, Aileen complained to him how effed up her life was and how upset she was that her girlfriend Tyria had left her. He said, “But the thing about it, girl, when you come into this world you had nothing but a naked ass and not a dime in your pocket and you made it, didn’t you?”

When you put it like that, it sure puts things in perspective.

Joyner’s words of wisdom really stood out, but all of the people interviewed are really what made Catching Killers so outstanding, human, and so easy to binge!

Catching Killers Trailer

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