If you haven’t yet taken the time to view the Netflix miniseries, Unbelievable, you might want to watch before reading further, as this blog post reveals some spoilers.
Right now, Netflix offers eight episodes of a new miniseries called Unbelievable. The series, inspired by true events that took place in Washington and Colorado, depicts the telling of multiple rapes at the hands of the same serial rapist.
The Netflix series is based off of a Pulitzer Prize-winning article entitled, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape”, which is a collaborative piece written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong.
The rapes began in Washington in 2008 with victim, “Marie Adler” (played by Kaitlyn Dever). After Marie reported her sexual assault to law enforcement, her account was eventually disbelieved by the detectives investigating her case, which resulted in coercion to recant her statement of the event, and an eventual charge against her for making a false report.
Marie accepted a plea deal that kept her out of jail but forced her to attend counseling, pay $500 in court fees, and put her on probation.
Meanwhile, the rapes continued into Colorado until 2011 when the perpetrator was identified, arrested, and charged on multiple counts of rape. The rapist, “Chris McCarthy” (played by Blake Ellis, whose real life counterpart is Marc O’Leary) was sentenced to 327 1/2 years in prison by Colorado, as well as an additional 68 1/2 years by Washington the following year.
Marie’s account of her rape proved true when detectives located photographs of her in Colorado that had been taken and kept by her rapist. She ended up winning a settlement against the City of Lynnwood, Washington for their mishandling of her case and incorrect charge for making a false report (that ended up being very true).
The Netflix series hails the two detectives in Colorado who team up to solve the string of rapes and bring justice to his victims. It equally depicts the remorse of the lead detective in Washington who failed to identify Marie Adler’s report as true, failing both her and the victims who came after her.
The detectives in Colorado who work so doggedly to find the rapist are “Karen Duvall”, whose real name sake is Stacy Galbraith, and “Grace Rasmussen”, whose real name is Edna Hendershot. Merrit Wever plays the role of Karen Duvall while Toni Collette plays Grace Rasmussen.
I am an avid consumer of true crime media. Netflix’s Unbelievable series is one of very few that masterfully depicts the real-to-life happenings of cases like these.
When Merrit Wever’s character is first introduced to us, she finds the perfect balance between consummate professionalism and genuine compassion as she questions a rape victim about her assault. She gently and repetitively asks the victim for her consent as she guides her through the events leading up to and throughout the assault. With every request for consent, she is subconsciously giving power back to the victim that was stripped away by her rapist. It’s extremely powerful.
This method of questioning is starkly juxtaposed to the methodical, sterile, and compassionless treatment that Marie gets from the detectives in Washington.
The realness of this series can be deeply felt all the way from the frustrations of the two female lead detectives working within an imperfect criminal justice system to the depiction of the variety of victims in age, race, stature, and appearance. At one point, when an FBI agent states that the rapist doesn’t have a type, Toni Collette’s character argues that he does - women who live alone.
Oftentimes, television focuses on the perpetrator more than the victim(s). Not so in Unbelievable. The hyper-focus on the rapist’s victims brings a perspective that is often lost in other shows. It was a refreshing watch for me and I highly recommend it to you.
So if you’re looking for a new Netflix series to binge watch and you’re in the market for a truly well done show, Unbelievable is the one.
Note - If you have been the victim of a sexual assault, this might not be the show for you.