David Farnor | On 14, Mar 2019

This week, Netflix will finally release its documentary investigating The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The documentary series was first announced back in 2017, just as the BBC aired its own documentary looking back at the notorious mystery. The three-year-old went missing from her hotel room in 2007, while on holiday in Praia de Luz in Portugal. A media campaign sparked a nationwide obsession and a case that continues even to this day, as new theories and developments occasionally come to light.

Director Chris Smith, who recently made Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, helms the eight-part project, which offers a detailed look back at McCann’s disappearance from the resort. By blending new interviews with more than 40 contributors, 120 hour of interviews, archival news footage and reenactments, the series promises to go beyond the headlines and take a unique look at the facts of the case as well as its impact on media standards around the world.

Executive produced by Emma Cooper and produced by UK-based Pulse Films in association with Paramount Television, the series has access to never-before-heard testimonies from those at the heart of the story, including friends of the McCann family, investigators working the case and from those who became the subject of media speculation and rumour.

Two people who won’t be in the programme, though, are Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, who refused to participate. They posted a short statement on their website, FindMadeleine.com, earlier this month, which sparked more media speculation about what the series might contain.

“We are aware that Netflix are planning to screen a documentary in March 2019 about Madeleine’s disappearance. The production company told us that they were making the documentary and asked us to participate. We did not see and still do not see how this programme will help the search for Madeleine and, particularly given there is an active police investigation, could potentially hinder it,” they wrote. “Consequently, our views and preferences are not reflected in the programme.”

Now, Netflix has finally confirmed thath the controversial project will be released on Friday 15th March. Here’s the trailer:

 

The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.

 

Netflix to make Madeleine McCann documentary series

14th March 2019

The disappearance of Madeleine McCann is to be the subject of a new Netflix series.

The streaming giant has made a name for itself in the true crime arena, with Making a Murderer’s investigation into Steven Avery’s case becoming an international sensation, turning people around the world into armchair detectives. Since then, it has profiled the controversial case surrounded Amanda Knox who was acquitted for murder, after four years in prison, delved into the death of JonBenet Ramsay in Casting JonBenet and exhumed the cold case of Sister Cathy Cesnik, who was killed while at the Archbishop Keough High School, in The Keepers.

Now, Digital Spy reports that Netflix is turning its true crime lens on to one of the most notorious cases in recent UK history: the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The three-year-old went missing from her hotel room in 2007, while on holiday in Praia de Luz in Portugal. A media campaign sparked a nationwide obsession and a case that continues even to this day, as new theories and developments occasionally come to light. Earlier this year, the BBC aired a documentary looking back at the last 10 years of the mystery. Now, Netflix is following suit.

The eight-part documentary will reportedly feature interviews with investigators and other figures from the case. Further details about the untitled programme are not yet known.

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