You know the story by now: though R. Kelly had faced allegations of rape for years, it wasn’t until an FBI agent watched Surviving R. Kellythat law enforcement officials dedicated enough resources to investigate those claims that the singer would finally face charges. That show joins so many other true crime properties in proving that if done well, the attention brought to a lukewarm case can bring it to a boil — and that in the right hands, true crime content can wield an impressive power.
We all have cases in the backs of our heads that we’re dissatisfied by — allegations that seemed to go nowhere, or suspects who return to the other side, seemingly flourishing. I’ll tell you mine: It’s Mario Batali, whose alleged pattern of sexual harassment and assault spanned decades, but didn’t get much of an official investigation. His partners (including Sarah’s sometime nemesis Joe Bastianich) bought him out of his restaurants in March of 2019 (something Batali was probably glad about as the entire industry collapsed a year later due to the coronavirus crisis), and last I heard, he was living Northport, Michigan, and was doing just fine. This is a man who had a show with Gwyneth Paltrow! A thoughtful, victim-focused docuseries on the impact his alleged behavior had, within the context of the context of the overall “bad boy chef” bullshit of the restaurant industry is something I’d watch the hell out of, and I bet I’m not the only one.
What about you? What high-profile story, cold case, or scandal do you believe needs a new, 2021-era true crime take? Are you thinking movie, TV, podcast, or book? And who do you think should helm such a project? — EB
For a decade, I've been dying for someone to make some kind of true crime property based on Jocelyn Kirsch and Edward Anderton. I'd love it to be something along the lines of the Dirty John mini-series. There's no murder, of course, but it would still be exciting to watch.
Somebody put up this Rolling Stone article on the case if you're unfamiliar.
So my white whale is the various crimes and abuses of the Church of Scientology. We've had Going Clear and Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, but neither has been enough to push investigators to take on the beast. It sounds as thought sexual assault cases against Danny Masterson are moving forward and that is a very positive step, but I would love to see a hard-hitting investigation of the crimes Scientology has been a part of or covered up. My thought has always been that the area where the Church of Scientology is the most vulnerable legally is human trafficking. What they are doing to children (holding them under coercion, forced labor) fits the definition. So my pitch is for someone to make an investigative series into CoS' abuses against children and my hope is that would be a tipping point.
I would love a documentary about the underlying case of Dennis Linehan and the resulting novel question of constitutional law presented by his case regarding civil commitment of sex criminals following a completed prison sentence. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-8th-circuit/1463623.html One of the attorneys involved, Eric Janus, was my Con Law professor in law school, and this case was in the works then, so while I know many of the details, I sort of lost track of the minutiae after moving away from Minnesota.
Adding this for a reader who emailed in their response: “CHRIS BROWN! Like did everyone forget!?” This is a great point, allegations against him came up again in recent years, but it all seemed to dissipate just as swiftly. - EB
For a decade, I've been dying for someone to make some kind of true crime property based on Jocelyn Kirsch and Edward Anderton. I'd love it to be something along the lines of the Dirty John mini-series. There's no murder, of course, but it would still be exciting to watch.
Somebody put up this Rolling Stone article on the case if you're unfamiliar.
https://www.sabrinaerdely.com/docs/TheFabulousFraudulentLife.pdf
So my white whale is the various crimes and abuses of the Church of Scientology. We've had Going Clear and Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, but neither has been enough to push investigators to take on the beast. It sounds as thought sexual assault cases against Danny Masterson are moving forward and that is a very positive step, but I would love to see a hard-hitting investigation of the crimes Scientology has been a part of or covered up. My thought has always been that the area where the Church of Scientology is the most vulnerable legally is human trafficking. What they are doing to children (holding them under coercion, forced labor) fits the definition. So my pitch is for someone to make an investigative series into CoS' abuses against children and my hope is that would be a tipping point.
I would love a documentary about the underlying case of Dennis Linehan and the resulting novel question of constitutional law presented by his case regarding civil commitment of sex criminals following a completed prison sentence. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-8th-circuit/1463623.html One of the attorneys involved, Eric Janus, was my Con Law professor in law school, and this case was in the works then, so while I know many of the details, I sort of lost track of the minutiae after moving away from Minnesota.
The Charlotte Kirk story that got a great VF treatment (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/10/how-the-charlotte-kirk-saga-blew-up-hollywood) seemed to get lost in the general *gestures broadly at everything* of 2020, but it's a jaw-dropper.
Adding this for a reader who emailed in their response: “CHRIS BROWN! Like did everyone forget!?” This is a great point, allegations against him came up again in recent years, but it all seemed to dissipate just as swiftly. - EB