Netflix has become the go-to streaming service for true crime in recent months with a string of feature-length and docuseries exploring shocking real-world stories. And the streamer now has a new true crime series that is already making serious waves.
I Just Killed My Dad only landed on Netflix on Tuesday (August 9) but it’s already surged into the streamer’s most-watched list and is currently ranked at No.2, behind only The Sandman. That puts it ahead of new releases like Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99 and the new season of teen drama Riverdale.
What is I Just Killed My Dad about?
Coming from Skye Borgman, the director of Abducted in Plain Sight and Girl in the Picture, I Just Killed My Dad centers on Anthony Templet a seemingly ordinary 17-year-old boy who one evening got his hands on two guns and shot his father. He then proceeded to call the police on himself and calmly wait for them to arrive on the curb outside his house.
The truth behind this seemingly unmotivated killing is slowly revealed, and as you’d expect from a Netflix true crime documentary there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. Templet may initially be viewed by investigators as nothing more than a cold-blooded killer, but there’s more to this story than meets the eye.
What do critics say about I Just Killed My Dad?
I Just Killed My Dad has come out of the gate, boasting a strong set of initial reviews. Right now the true crime doc scores a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and viewers seem impressed as well with its audience score currently standing at 100%.
Lucy Mangan of the Guardian was very complimentary about the mini-series, saying: “Borgman lays it all out before us with her customary consummate skill. She lets the participants speak their truths, while weaving in the practicalities and difficulties of the case via interviews with the lawyers.”
CNN’s Brain Lowry was similarly positive, declaring: “There are enough twists in Netflix's latest true-crime docuseries to keep audiences engaged.” Brain Tallerico of RogerEbert.com was a little more mixed but did still note that “Borgman has a remarkable ability to get a very shy, quiet young man to open up as much as possible.”
Nick Hilton of the Independent compared I Just Killed My Dad to Borgman’s previous Netflix docs: “As a thematically linked companion piece to last month’s hit Girl in the Picture, which twisted and turned every few minutes until its viewers felt like a tangle of fairy lights, it is a sleeker, more introspective project.”
Should you stream I Just Killed My Dad?
True crime fanatics won’t need any convincing with this one, I Just Killed My Dad is another compelling entry in the genre. With a shocking murder at its center and plenty of unexpected revelations as the layers are peeled back, don’t be surprised if you end up binge-watching the entire three-episode series in a single sitting.
However, viewers less enamored with true crime might want to give this one a skip, it’s definitely not seeking to convince anybody who’s not already on the true crime bandwagon. Of course, considering true crime is so popular on Netflix, we’d wager that most subscribers have at least some interest in the genre, and in that case, I Just Killed My Dad is more than worth a look.
Read next: Never Have I Ever is a hit on Netflix — and it's 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. And this John McAfee documentary has just arrived on Netflix, and it's already climbing the top 10 list
