---
title: "Making a Murderer: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/making-a-murderer/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/tv/making-a-murderer"
critics_score: 80
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Making a Murderer (2015): what the critics said

Critics' score 80 from 7 reviews: 6 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics are won over. The reviews lean strongly positive, six of seven recommending the series and none against it. The praise clusters on the grip of ten long episodes: several critics place it alongside Serial and The Jinx as the next step for long-form true crime, and find that the slow accumulation of footage and interviews, gathered over a decade, builds a persuasive and chilling picture of a justice system going wrong. The defence lawyers come in for particular affection.

The reservations concern what all that detail costs the viewer. Collider, the one mixed voice, finds it difficult, dark television whose immersion in the minutiae of the case ends without clear justice or simple answers. Empire and Vulture, both admirers, likewise note that it leaves the viewer frustrated and crushed, though they treat this as the point rather than a fault. The spread is narrow: nobody thinks it fails, and the disagreement is only over how much of an ordeal the watching is.

## Variety — Brian Lowry

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 December 2015. 

The critic calls the series riveting and a stunning 10-part documentary that invigorates the true-crime form through traditional techniques. It meticulously crafts a chilling portrait of potential abuse of power and a miscarriage of justice spanning decades.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/tv/reviews/making-a-murderer-review-netflix-documentary-series-1201655633/)

## Vulture

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2015. 

The critic finds the series as gripping and impactful as Serial and The Jinx, if not better, praising its exploration of hopelessness, class issues, and the justice system's flaws, while noting it leaves the viewer crushed and frustrated.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2015/12/making-a-murderer-as-good-as-serial-if-not-better.html)

## The Guardian

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2015. 

The critic finds the Netflix series a frighteningly addictive true-crime tale made for binge-watching. The long-form documentary condenses a complex saga into an episodic narrative as compelling as any fictional counterpart.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/dec/17/making-a-murderer-documentary-review)

## Empire — Emma Thrower

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 January 2016. 

The critic hails it as Netflix's first truly binge-worthy original that became a cultural phenomenon, praising its ten-year filming arc and charismatic defense lawyers while noting the frustrating lack of neat answers in a harrowing saga.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/making-murderer-review/)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2015. 

The critic deems it a worthy entry into the burgeoning true-crime genre and the next step from works like Serial and The Jinx. It uses a slow-burn approach over 10 episodes that builds engagement through a complex, messy case of alleged wrongful conviction.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/making-a-murderer-tv-review-849646/)

## Den of Geek — Tony Sokol

Rating 5/5. 18 December 2015. 

The critic calls it bold investigative journalism, recommends it strongly for its detailed look at corruption and conspiracy in the justice system, highlighting the long-form documentary's value.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/making-a-murderer-netflix-gets-into-true-crime-watch-the-first-episode-and-be-the-judge/)

## Collider — Allison Keene

Rating ★★★. 17 December 2015. 

The series is ambitious and difficult television that tells an incredible story with unbelievable twists through a wealth of footage and interviews. It is a dark journey into the minutiae of a twisted case with no simple answers or clear justice.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/making-a-murderer-review-netflix/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/making-a-murderer.md