From Katrina: Come Hell and High Water to Tiger King to The Tinder Swindler, documentaries can help deepen our understanding of the real-life stories that captivate us. After all, the headlines can only go so far — documentaries look to uncover the full picture. The only problem has always been the wait for them.
Enter Instadocs, a new fast-turnaround documentary series that takes you to the very center of the loudest headlines, immersing you in the facts and feelings of the moment. From executive producers Josh Tyrangiel (Vice News Tonight, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Atlantic), Connor Schell (30 for 30, The Last Dance, O.J.: Made in America), and showrunner Steve Yaccino (Giuliani: What Happened to America’s Mayor?, Killer Lies: Chasing a True Crime Con Man), Instadocs will tackle a wide range of gripping current events, crises, and cultural moments. Every installment will move at the speed of each real-life story and arrive at the height of the conversation.
“The best documentaries don’t just capture history — they shape how we understand it,” Tyrangiel says. “With Netflix, we have the infrastructure to match the speed of the world we’re documenting. Instadocs is about giving audiences something they’ve never had before: depth and craft at the moment it matters most.”
Produced by Words + Pictures, the series launches on May 30 with Instadocs: Alex Murdaugh, Unconvicted. It focuses on the bombshell overturning of Alex Murdaugh’s double murder conviction by the South Carolina Supreme Court, featuring all-new interviews. Learn more about the first installment of Instadocs below.
In 2023, former lawyer Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son Paul, and was convicted on two counts of murder and two counts of using a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He also pleaded guilty to dozens of financial crimes. While Murdaugh began serving consecutive life sentences in a maximum security prison, his team appealed the verdict, claiming that Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill had interfered with the jury. On May 13, 2026, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the double-murder conviction, granting him a new trial that will take place this year. Instadocs: Alex Murdaugh, Unconvicted features interviews with South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, the creators of Trial Watchers, as well as jurors — including Myra Crosby — whose shocking dismissal from the jury contributed to questions about Hill’s misconduct.
