News

Netflix’s This Is the Zodiac Speaking spills some shocking facts about the case that continues to haunt America. The Zodiac killer was an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the ’60s. The killer mailed taunting messages to regional newspapers, with his last letter claiming that he had killed 37 victims. The new documentary focuses on the only suspect that authorities named publicly, Arthur Leigh Allen.

A still poster of This Is The Zodiac Speaking | Credits: Netflix

According to the documentary, people who knew Allen claimed that he had told them that he was the Zodiac killer. These people also revealed that Allen drugged them as children and may have even brought them along to his crimes. The documentary included interviews with David and Connie Seawater and several other former pupils who knew Allen.

Robert Graysmith, the journalist who wrote the book about the serial killer and was...

Exclusive: UTA has signed director, producer and writer Joshua Zeman — a leading voice in the true-crime storytelling space — with plans to find him new opportunities in documentary filmmaking, narrative directing, digital content and more.

Zeman is best known for his critically acclaimed debut feature Cropsey, as well as such series as The Killing Season (A+E Networks), Murder Mountain (Netflix) and The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (Netflix).

Co-directed with Barbara Brancaccio, Cropsey watches as the filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances. The Killing Season sees Zeman and Rachel Mills examine unsolved serial killer cases, while Murder Mountain looks at crime surrounding the marijuana industry in Humboldt County, California. And then, there’s The Sons of Sam, which looks at journalist Maury Terry’s conspiratorial thinking surrounding the infamous Son of Sam murders.

Zeman most recently departed from...

The Hollywood Critics Association is out with the nominees for its inaugural Hca TV Awards. Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso scored a leading eight noms overall, followed by Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale with seven. NBC and HBO took network/platform bragging rights with 29 nominations, edging Netflix’s 28.

The trophies will be handed during a August 22 ceremony at the Avalon Hollywood. See the full list of nominations below.

The Hca TV Awards separate their noms by comedies and dramas and, notably, into separate categories for broadcast, cable and streaming shows.

Mckenna Grace and Brooklynn Prince announced the nominees during a livestream this morning on the organization’s official YouTube channel.

Here are the nominees for the first Hca TV Awards, followed by a list on noms by network/platform:

Best Animated Series or Animated Television Movie

Animaniacs (Hulu)

Big Mouth (Netflix)

Bob’s Burgers (Fox)

Harley Quinn (HBO Max)

Invincible (Amazon...

Netflix's latest true-crime offering, The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness, follows not only the terrifying Son of Sam case but also investigations that were linked to it. The docuseries makes the case that convicted serial killer David Berkowitz was not the only perpetrator involved when a series of shootings unfolded in New York City between 1976 and 1977. One of the cases pegged to Berkowitz's larger circle was the brutal murder of Arlis Perry at Stanford University. So who was Perry, and who killed her? The chilling 47-year-old case has finally been solved, and here are all the details that you need to know about it and how it connects back to Berkowitz.

Perry was a 19-year-old newlywed from Bismarck, Nd, who had just moved out to California to live with her husband on the Stanford campus. The night of her murder, she had gone to Memorial Church to pray.

You might know convicted serial killer David Berkowitz as the notorious "Son of Sam" behind the shootings that terrorized New York City between 1976 and 1977. But Netflix's The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness explores the possibility of more than one perpetrator behind the deadly attacks. Following the thorough research of investigative journalist Maury Terry, the true-crime docuseries looks into Berkowitz's connection to a widespread satanic cult across the nation. One lead that Terry fell into was that of Roy Radin, an unsavory producer who was rumored to be a cult leader. So who was Radin, and what happened to him? Here's what you need to know about him.

In the docuseries, Michael Zuckerman, a former reporter at Gannett Newspapers, explained that he had received a letter from a prison informant named Vinny. Vinny served time with Berkowitz and claimed to know about the cult Berkowitz was a part of.

Did the Son of Sam, aka David Berkowitz, really act alone? According to Netflix's The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness, that was the narrative that the NYPD was trying to sell after a shooter (or shooters) with a .44 caliber gun killed six and injured seven between 1976 and 1977 in New York City. Investigative journalist Maury Terry didn't buy this story - it didn't seem feasible to him that Berkowitz acted alone. One of the key suspects for Terry was a man named John Carr, who died from a gunshot wound in 1978. Officials initially considered his death a suicide, but Terry believed there was more to his story than detectives ever investigated.

Who Was Sam Carr?

So who was John Carr? We'd have to first talk about Sam Carr. The media pushed the sensational story that a dog belonging to his neighbor Sam had commanded Berkowitz to murder his victims.

We may soon begin to run low on famous cases from the past to reframe into true-crime series. Following on recent series about the Night Stalker and the Ted Bundy murders, Netflix now drops “The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness,” about the Son of Sam killings in New York City in the late 1970s. That the title and subject differ by a letter is the engine of this story: We follow the late investigative journalist Maury Terry through his belief that the murders, for which David Berkowitz was convicted, have their roots in a grander conspiracy, rooted in a cult with possible ties to other crimes and to the Manson family.

Terry died in 2015, but filmmaker Joshua Zeman had access to his notes and has cast Paul Giamatti to read them in voice-over. The picture that emerges from Giamatti’s committed performance is that of a person who...

Netflix‘s new docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness aims to restructure a deeply ingrained story. New York City’s most notorious serial murderer wasn’t a serial murderer after all. If David Berkowitz was part of a team of street level satanic power brokers, the entire story is a false narrative.

The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness is an impressive entry in the true crime documentary premiere run at Netflix. It focuses on the work of journalist Maury Terry, whose investigation into the Son of Sam case was criminally sidelined. Terry was convinced that convicted lone serial killer David Berkowitz was part of “a highly motivated and well-organized cult group whose various criminal enterprises included the .44 homicide.”

Terry’s 1987 book The Ultimate Evil: An Investigation of America’s Most Dangerous Satanic Cult, is a must read. But it got lost in the Satanic Panic,...

Based on the works of journalist Maury Terry, Netflix's The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness looks beyond David Berkowitz for the shooting murders that unfolded from 1976 to 1977 in New York City. Per the title, Terry's theory was that there wasn't just one Son of Sam, but multiple. Ultimately, Terry believed that the so-called Sons of Sam could be traced back to a cult called The Children, which was connected to the likes of Scientology and Charles Manson's Family. But how did that connection come about? Here's what you need to know.

While looking into Berkowitz, Terry connected him to John and Michael Carr, brothers who were literally sons to a man named Sam. The journalist strongly believed that these brothers were involved in the Sons of Sam killings and looked further into their past connections. He found that the siblings had been linked to the Church of Scientology in their past.

The new Netflix true-crime docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness draws heavily from the works of investigative journalist Maury Terry. Terry didn't believe that convicted serial killer David Berkowitz, the notorious "Son of Sam" killer, acted alone, despite the official narrative given to the press. From 1976 to 1977, a shooter - or shooters - injured seven and killed six people in New York City with a .44 caliber gun. The docuseries presents the story through Terry's own words, as he spent his career going down multiple rabbit holes to connect Berkowitz to a widespread satanic cult. But who's the narrator of the story? The documentary's narrator isn't exactly a neutral and omnipresent one. It's Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti as Terry, and he's drawing from an adapted version of Terry's book, The Ultimate Evil, as well as other records.

At the beginning of the docuseries, director Joshua Zeman explains that...

Netflix's latest true-crime project takes another look at one of New York City's deadliest murder sprees. The docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness re-examines the David Berkowitz case that terrorized New York City in the '70s. While Berkowitz was held responsible for the Son of Sam shootings, investigative journalist Maury Terry believed that there was more to this case. So what happened to David Berkowitz after he was caught? Berkowitz did, in fact, talk with Terry on two occasions after he was convicted. Today, he is still serving six consecutive life sentences in prison, where he has taken to the Christian faith.

What Were the Son of Sam Killings?

From 1976 to 1977, terror took over New York City when a mysterious killer started shooting in random places with a .44-caliber revolver. The shooter killed six people and wounded seven others before the NYPD could close in on the case.

Netflix's new docuseries The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness takes on the infamous case of David Berkowitz, the 24-year-old postal worker from Yonkers, NY, who was convicted for killing six people between 1976 and 1977. The true-crime series focuses primarily on the records and investigations of journalist Maury Terry as he pushed against the single-shooter narrative that the police and media presented. While the NYPD stuck to the story that Berkowitz committed his crimes alone, Terry believed that Berkowitz had other accomplices and was part of a more widespread satanic cult. In interviews, Berkowitz even confirmed some of Terry's theories.

But just who was David Berkowitz, and what were his crimes? Before you delve into The Sons of Sam, here's what you need to know about Berkowitz and his infamous "Son of Sam" case.

Berkowitz's Early Life

Berkowitz was born out of wedlock on June 1, 1953, in Brooklyn and put...

This weekly feature is in addition to TVLine’s daily What to Watch listings and monthly guide to What’s on Streaming.

With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.

More from TVLinePose Premiere Recap: Gin and the JuiceLegends of Tomorrow EP on 'Avalance' Surprise and Why Sara Was...

It’s safe to say that the Covid content drought is just about over. Netflix prides itself on being the most, let’s say, prolific streaming service in the game. With its list of new releases for May 2021 it’s once again revealing why.

There is a lot going on for Netflix this month and it all starts with some high profile original films. Zack Snyder’s latest zombie effort Army of the Dead premieres on May 21. That will be preceded by Monster, the adaptation of Walter Dean Myers’ classic YA book, on May 7 and Amy Adams Rear Window-esque The Woman in the Window on May 14.

Read more Games Castlevania Season 3: Infinite Corridor Explained By John Saavedra TV Lucifer Season 5: Devilish First Footage From Musical Episode Revealed By Kirsten Howard

Netflix’s TV offerings in May 2021 are just as packed. The adaptation of Millarworld superhero comic Jupiter’s Legacy...

Journalist Maury Terry was already neck-deep into trying to prove that David Berkowitz, a.k.a. the Son of Sam, did not act alone in his New York City killing spree when he received a letter from the serial killer in 1981, postmarked Attica Correctional Facility. “I am guilty of these crimes,” Berkowitz wrote, “But I didn’t do it all.”

Berkowitz went on to tell Terry that he was part of a cult, as the journalist had suspected, and that there was more than one Son of Sam, even naming his neighbor John Carr,...