Confronting a Serial Killer

American documentary television miniseries

Confronting a Serial Killer

Genre| Documentary
Directed by| Joe Berlinger
Composer| Joel Goodman
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 5
Production
Executive producers|

* Joe Berlinger
* Joe Doran
* Jon Kamen
* Po Kutchins

Cinematography|

* Andrew Dunn
* Taylor Gentry

Editors|

* Jennifer Honn
* Charlotte Stobbs
* Cy Christiansen

Production companies|

* Third Eye Motion Picture Company
* RadicalMedia
* Lionsgate Television

Original release
Network| Starz
Release| April 18 (2021-04-18) –
May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16)

Confronting a Serial Killer is an American documentary television miniseries directed and produced by Joe Berlinger. It explores Jillian Lauren, as she lures and investigates Sam Little, the most prolific serial killer in American history. It consists of 5 episodes and premiered on April 18, 2021, on Starz.[1]

## Plot

[edit]

The series follows Jillian Lauren, as she lures and investigates Sam Little, the most prolific serial killer in American history.

## Episodes

[edit]

No.| Title| Directed by| Original release date [2]| U.S. viewers
(millions)

|
|
|
|

1| "Getting Away with Murders"| Joe Berlinger| April 18, 2021 (2021-04-18)| 0.084[3]
2| "Deal with The Devil"| Joe Berlinger| April 25, 2021 (2021-04-25)| 0.071[4]
3| "Behold the Monster"| Joe Berlinger| May 2, 2021 (2021-05-02)| 0.052[5]
4| "Restoring Their Names"| Joe Berlinger| May 9, 2021 (2021-05-09)| 0.031[6]
5| "No Longer Jane Doe"| Joe Berlinger| May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16)| N/A

## Production

[edit]

Jillian Lauren initially began writing a mystery novel, and while interviewing detective Mitzi Roberts of The Los Angeles Police Department she told Lauren: "Well, I’m proud of them all, but I did catch this serial killer Sam Little once. That was pretty cool."[7] Lauren began writing a non-fiction book about Little, and spent more than 40 hours interviewing him, where he confessed to multiple murders and sent her drawings of his victims.[8] In December 2018, Lauren wrote about her experiencing interviewing Little for The Cut.[9] Joe Berlinger read the article and thought it would be interesting for a feature-length film or documentary series and met with Lauren.[10]

## Release

[edit]

The series had its world premiere with the first two episodes debuting at South by Southwest on March 16, 2021.[11][12] It premiered in the United States on Starz on April 18, 2021.[13]

## Reception

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 83% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 8.33/10.[14] On Metacritic, the series holds a rating of 55 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Video: Starz Unveils Trailer, Key Art and Premiere Date for Original Docuseries "Confronting a Serial Killer" from Oscar(R)-Nominated and Emmy(R)-Winning Filmmaker Joe Berlinger". The Futon Critic. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
2. ^ "Confronting a Serial Killer". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
3. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 20, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.18.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
4. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 27, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.25.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
5. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (May 4, 2021). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.2.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
6. ^ Metcalfe, Mitch (May 11, 2021). "ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.9.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
7. ^ Knake Johnson, Renee (April 19, 2021). "Cold Cases, Misogyny and Race in America: Q&A with Jillian Lauren, Host of Docuseries 'Confronting a Serial Killer' on STARZ". Ms. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
8. ^ "Dutton To Publish Book On Most Prolific U.S. Serial Killer Sam Little". Mystery Tribune. December 24, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
9. ^ Lauren, Jillian (December 20, 2018). "The Serial Killer and the 'Less Dead' The only reporter who's talked to Samuel Little tells how he was caught — and why he almost got away". The Cut. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
10. ^ Lestre, Jorge (April 20, 2021). "Exclusive: Joe Berlinger and Jillian Lauren talk about Confronting a Serial Killer!". Cine Addiction. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
11. ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (January 14, 2021). "Joe Berlinger to Direct Starz' True-Crime Series 'Confronting a Serial Killer' About Sam Little". TheWrap. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
12. ^ Day-Ramos, Dino (February 10, 2021). "SXSW Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup; Charli XCX Quarantine Feature To Close Fest; Tom Petty Docu Set As Centerpiece". Deadline. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
13. ^ Sneider, Jeff (March 16, 2021). "'Confronting a Serial Killer' Trailer: Joe Berlinger Shines a Light on Samuel Little". Collider. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
14. ^ "Confronting a Serial Killer". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
15. ^ "Confronting a Serial Killer". Metacritic. Retrieved April 28, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Confronting a Serial Killer at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Works directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky

Together|

* Brother's Keeper (1992)
* Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)

| Paradise Lost trilogy|

* The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
* 2: Revelations (2000)
* 3: Purgatory (2011)

|

Solo|

| Joe Berlinger|

* Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
* Crude (2009)
* Under African Skies (2012)
* Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (2014)
* Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru (2016)
* Intent to Destroy (2017)
* Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)
* Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
* Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer (2021)
* Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021)
* Confronting a Serial Killer (2021)
* Murder Among the Mormons (2021)
* Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields
* Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes (2022)
* Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes (2022)
* Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (2023)
* Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey (2024)

|

Bruce Sinofsky|

* Hollywood High (2003)

* v
* t
* e

Starz original programming

Current|

* BMF (since 2021)
* The Couple Next Door (since 2025)
* Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham (since 2021)
* Outlander (since 2014)
* Power Book III: Raising Kanan (since 2021)
* Power Book IV: Force (since 2022)
* P-Valley (since 2020)
* Sweetpea (since 2024)

Upcoming|

* Outlander: Blood of My Blood (2025)

Ended|

| 2000s debuts|

* The Bronx Bunny Show (2007)
* Crash (2008–2009)
* Head Case (2007–2009)
* Hollywood Residential (2008)
* Party Down (2009–2010; 2023)

|

2010s debuts|

* American Gods (2017–2021)
* America to Me (2018)
* Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018)
* Black Sails (2014–2017)
* Blunt Talk (2015–2016)
* Boss (2011–2012)
* Camelot (2011)
* Close to the Enemy (2016)
* Counterpart (2017–2019)
* Da Vinci's Demons (2013–2015)
* Dublin Murders (2019)
* Flesh and Bone (2015)
* The Girlfriend Experience (2016–2021)
* Gravity (2010)
* Howards End (2018)
* Magic City (2012–2013)
* The Missing (2014–2016)
* Now Apocalypse (2019)
* The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
* Power (2014–2020)
* The Rook (2019)
* The Spanish Princess (2019–2020)
* Spartacus (2010–2013)
* Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011)
* Survivor's Remorse (2014–2017)
* Sweetbitter (2018–2019)
* Vida (2018–2020)
* The White Princess (2017)

2020s debuts|

* Becoming Elizabeth (2022)
* Blindspotting (2021–2023)
* Confronting a Serial Killer (2021)
* Dangerous Liaisons (2022)
* Death and Nightingales (2021)
* Gaslit (2022)
* Heels (2021–2023)
* Hightown (2020–2024)
* The Luminaries (2020)
* Mary & George (2024)
* Minx (season 2; 2023)
* Power Book II: Ghost (2020–2024)
* Run the World (2021–2023)
* Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (2020)
* The Serpent Queen (2022–2024)
* Shining Vale (2022–2023)
* Step Up (season 3; 2022)
* Three Women (2024)
* Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell? (2022)

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template