I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

96%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

An exploration of the case of the Golden State Killer who terrorized California in the 1970s and 1980s, committing 50 sexual assaults and 10 murders, and true crime author Michelle McNamara's obsessive quest to find justice on behalf of his victims.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Where to Watch

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Director Liz Garbus smartly centers I'll Be Gone in the Dark around the late Michelle McNamara's passionate efforts, weaving together a heavy, but important tapestry of trauma, obsession, and survival.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (49) Critics Reviews

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (1)

Olivia B. Waxman

TIME Magazine

The film is a combination of true crime documentary and memoir, told through McNamara’s home movies, text messages, and journals.

Sep 19, 2024

Full Review

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (2)

Scarlett Harris

Guardian

By the very nature of its topic, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is at times a harrowing account of the atrocities DeAngelo periodically wrought on California over two decades, and the lasting effects his crimes had. But it is a necessary watch for these times

Aug 2, 2023

Full Review

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (3)

Anna Leszkiewicz

New Statesman

This is both a satisfying story of justice restored, and a moving tribute to one woman's refusal to give up on forgotten victims.

Sep 9, 2020

Full Review

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (4)

Dan Webster

Spokesman-Review (Washington)

As much as anything else, HBO's "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" serves as a touching eulogy, with each of those interviewed - from Oswalt to investigators and even victims - paying tribute both to McNamara's doggedness as well as her sensitivity.

Dec 30, 2020

Full Review

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (5)

Jeff Sneider

Collider

I'll Be Gone in the Dark walks a narrative tightrope, in that it isn't just about our mothers and daughters and sisters, etc. It's about parents, who play an awfully important role in this series.

Rated: A

Dec 30, 2020

Full Review

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (6)

Matt Cabral

Common Sense Media

Killer and victims get equal time in gripping docuseries.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 7, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (54) audience reviews

June H Unnecessary long documentary with repeated stories, lines and footages, better to go with the 1st episode and the 2 last ones. Im not disrespecful with the victims, it's just the editing and narrating are bad, much consuming time for not much new information in every episode. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/01/24 Full Review Lux L While it is interesting both for the true-crime aspect and the biography of Michelle McNamara, the importance of her work to the 2018 capture of GSK/EAR/ONS is GROSSLY overblown. Relative to the thousands of hours of investigation by numerous dogged LEOs spanning four DECADES—often well into their retirement—her contribution was a drop in the bucket. That is what ensured the monster was always going to be caught; it was a matter simply of time, not the unhealthy obsession of a B-list celebrity's wife which probably contributed to her ultimately tragic end. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/24 Full Review Gareth v What Michelle achieved is interesting enough without having to delve too deeply into her background story which this docu-series does. Could of been tighter on the case and specifically Michelle's work and therefore an epsiode or 2 shorter. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/24/23 Full Review tom m Was hoping this was actually about the Golden State killer. It wasn't. Exceedingly stupid documentary. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member This series' choice to focus on Michelle McNamara was a mistake and very self-indulgent. Nobody cares about this celebrity's wife. 🙄 Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliant. Poignant and terrifying. Now how many shows/movies could claim to be both of those. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Liz Garbus Director

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jun 28, 2020 Murder Habit Michelle McNamara becomes immersed in the graphic details of the Golden State Killer case, connecting with like-minded sleuths, trading facts, photos and leads. Details Episode 2 Aired Jul 5, 2020 Reign of Terror Michelle McNamara reflects on the 1984 murder of her childhood neighbor Kathy Lombardo. Details Episode 3 Aired Jul 12, 2020 Rat in a Maze In 1979 the hunt for the perpetrator stalls due to lack of cooperation between jurisdictions; David Witthuhn, the husband of murder victim Manuela Witthuhn, is questioned as the sole person of interest. Details Episode 4 Aired Jul 19, 2020 The Motherlode Michelle pushes her book deadline but struggles with the graphic nature of the crimes she is investigating. Details Episode 5 Aired Jul 26, 2020 Monsters Recede but Never Vanish Paul Holes, who is the chief of forensics in Contra Costa County, reconstructs the killer's family tree with the help of genetic genealogist Barbara-Rae Venter. Details Episode 6 Aired Aug 2, 2020 Walk into the Light As a former police officer's arrest unfolds in real time, chilling facts materialize to illuminate Michelle's foreshadowing of the events. Details Episode 7 Aired Jun 21, 2021 Show Us Your Face Featuring the late McNamara's own archival research and voice recordings, and interviews with residents of present-day Oak Park. Details

More Like This

View All Popular TV on Streaming

Phoenix Rising 97% 60% Phoenix Rising Watchlist Mind Over Murder 100% 87% Mind Over Murder Watchlist Black and Missing 100% 33% Black and Missing Watchlist Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning 100% 92% Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning Watchlist TRAILER for Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage & Reckoning Leaving Neverland 98% 26% Leaving Neverland Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related TV News

View All Related TV News

Best-Reviewed Series by Genre 2020

Videos

View All videos

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Documentary Series Trailer

2:15

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Documentary Series Teaser

1:19

View more videos

Photos

View All I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1 photos

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

View more photos

Director: Liz Garbus
Network: HBO
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Documentary, Crime, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date: Jun 28, 2020

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

Where to Watch

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Reviews

Audience Reviews

My Rating

Cast & Crew

Episodes

More Like This

Related TV News

Videos

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1

Photos

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — Season 1

References