Dark Tide: Growing Up with Ted Bundy is a thoughtful act of catharsis
Recent episodes of The Docket
The Docket 06.27.24: Salute To America/n
The Docket 06.20.24: There Is No Ethan
The Docket 06.13.24: Linklater Hollandsworth LLC
News and updates
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Attributing its ranking of the 30 best true-crime podcasts to "Staff Author" is pretty bogus of Entertainment Weekly -- but Ms. Author came up with a solid list nevertheless: a couple of surprises, a top choice I agree with, and some new listens for the "someday" section of my review list.
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Ariana Grande went on Penn Badgley's podcast, Podcrushed, and talked about Quiet on Set and her own experience in the Nick-verse. This quote about kids trying to please the grown-ups and get that laugh dopamine really struck me: "Grande said young stars are hyper-focused on reactions to their performances from from adults on set which 'create a strange pattern that occurs where it’s really taking advantage of how much it means to the young performer to get a laugh from Video Village.'"
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According to Variety, a tearful Kevin Spacey told Piers Morgan he owes "millions" in legal fees, and is facing foreclosure on his Baltimore house. He also got passive-aggressive about Netflix and/or his House Of Cards co-stars supporting him: "It does seem with Dave Chappelle that Ted Sarandos has learned to be supportive of controversial individuals…I do wish he’d done that with me." Wow, what a shame that Spacey himself (allegedly) couldn't have avoided this nadir by treating others with respect in the first place!
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Pamela Smart, whose story became To Die For as well as an HBO doc and more than one Law & Order episode, has finally admitted responsibility in an attempt to get her sentence reduced.
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More weekend reading from Vanity Fair: Joy Press's "The Baby Reindeer Dilemma: When 'True Story' TV Shows Go Too Far." The piece reviews various true-crime properties currently/very recently facing defamation actions from IRL figure portrayed in them, including When They See Us, Inventing Anna, and of course Baby Reindeer. Eve and I talked about the possible "chilling effect" of litigation like this on The Docket last year, but what I still don't quite get is how these plaintiffs don't see that suing over a depiction that might make them look bad often makes them look even worse.
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Early RHONJ-er Dina Manzo's ex-husband has been convicted "on charges he hired a reputed mobster to assault the woman’s boyfriend in exchange for a free, lavish wedding reception. A federal jury found Thomas Manzo of Franklin Lakes guilty of conspiracy, falsifying and concealing documents, and committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity." Manzo hired John Perna, "described as a soldier in the Lucchese Crime Family" by prosecutors, to attack Dina Manzo's then boyfriend (now her husband) Dave Cantin in 2015. Perna held his reception the next month at a Paterson, NJ restaurant in which Thomas Manzo had a partial stake. Manzo could get up to 46 years when he's sentenced in October; Perna pled to a lesser charge and is already out. The NY Post has more on Dina's reaction.
Between this, the "we can't have an RHONJ reunion because we can't insure that mayhem" (I'm paraphrasing), and the "Bob Menendez eats nothing but steak" revelations...not a great week for Jersey notables.
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Former NYC prosecutor Linda Fairstein has settled her defamation suit against Netflix, says NBC News. Fairstein, upset by the portrayal of her in 2019 miniseries When They See Us, receives no money in the settlement; Netflix has agreed to donate $1M to the Innocence Project. ATSU director Ava DuVernay, no longer bound from commenting by ongoing proceedings, asserted that Fairstein bailed on the suit rather than face cross-examination in court.
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Netflix has confirmed a second season and a premiere date (ish) for Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. If you too wonder what there is still to say about these cases, Netflix wants you to know S02 will "include interviews with Murdaugh’s housekeeper Blanca Turrubiate Simpson, former caretaker Mushelle Smith, Curtis Eddie Smith, and one of the jurors in the double murder trial." ...Okay; still not sure you need a whole season around those THes -- a single follow-up ep probably does it -- but we'll all find out on September 20.
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Gypsy Rose Blanchard talked to People about her split from husband Ryan Anderson. Based on her recent-relationships timeline as outlined by Rolling Stone, and on, you know, her personal history, maybe...just choose you for a year or two? Probably not realistic given the other timeline in play here, her upcoming docuseries, but still.
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The Griffin Dunne memoir I mentioned in my review of the Dominick Dunne bio is excerpted in Vanity Fair. Based on this portion, I think I'm right to be looking forward to reading it.
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Oxygen's True Crime blog has a process-y look at how Snapped producers choose cases for the show. I kind of wished an independent outfit had done the write-up, versus the "house blog" for the show's network, but what can you do.
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Deadline reports that Jessica Biel will produce a true-crime series, Fatal Destination, for Investigation Discovery. It won't surprise you to learn, per Deadline's write-up, that "The series will feature exotic destinations, where the consequences of being a tourist are anything but a dream vacation." (If you had the phrase "dark side of paradise" on your card, stamp it!)
Recent true-crime stories
Hotel Cocaine is a defanged Casino
Does Cult Massacre: One Day In Jonestown have anything else to say?
Two filmic takes on the Lonely Hearts Killers
Tell Them You Love Me tells a complicated and painful story with grace
Exhibit B. Books
Exhibit B. is Sarah’s specialty store focusing on true-crime books and ephemera.
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About Best Evidence
Welcome to Best Evidence, which is devoted to the analysis, critique, and review of true-crime properties across audio, video, and text.
Now more than ever, you need a guide to what true crime is worth your time—and that’s what we’re here to do.
Your hosts
Sarah D. Bunting
Editor-in-chief
Sarah founded The Blotter in 2011 and was the host of its flagship podcast, The Blotter Presents. She was a cofounder of the seminal television critique site Television Without Pity; she also co-hosts podcasts including Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs, Extra Hot Great, and Again With This.
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Eve Batey
Publisher
Eve Batey is (with Sarah D. Bunting) the co-founder of Best Evidence. She’s a former deputy managing editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, was once the editor of Eater SF, and is currently a contributor to Vanity Fair (among other publications). You can find her on Instagram as @evelb or send pitches, tips, and fan mail to [email protected].
Contact Best Evidence
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