It feels like only yesterday – because it was – that I was wondering whether we might be approaching peak true-crime consumption, regardless of how much more of it the streaming platforms shovel our way. We are certainly at the point where we can afford to ignore the voyeuristic dross (the kind that sells itself with the promise that Ted Bundy can be heard – saying f-all of significance – on newly discovered tapes) and concentrate on the better quality end of the spectrum: documentaries about miscarriages of justice or systemic legal/social/political failings, say, or dramas that flesh out intangible aspects of a story that factual programming is not designed for.
The latest addition to the last category is the five-part miniseries Candy (Disney+). It stars Jessica Biel as Texas housewife Candy Montgomery, who in 1980 was accused of murdering Betty Gore, her neighbour and the wife of her lover Allan Gore, by striking her 41 times with an axe. She claimed it was self-defence after Betty attacked her with the weapon during a confrontation about the affair. When the jury agreed and she walked free, there was an outcry. The case has been the subject of at least one documentary, and another miniseries – starring Elizabeth Olsen – is due out next year.
