The horrific events will also documented in Season 2 of MINDHUNTER.
After airing a series of new documentary features, HBO aren’t resting on their laurels because the network have announced a plethora of new titles.
Given the fact that the majority of HBO titles are released via Sky Atlantic, we’re confident that Irish viewers will be extremely interested in some of the titles that are coming up, including a series on the horrific Atlanta murders of 1979-81.
The Atlanta murders of 1979–1981, sometimes called the Atlanta child murders (although several of the reported victims were adults), were a series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia, from the middle of 1979 until May 1981. Over the two-year period, at least 29 children, teenagers, and adults were killed.
Wayne Williams, an Atlanta native who was 23-years-old at the time of the last murder, was arrested, tried, and convicted of two of the adult murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
Police subsequently have attributed a number of the child murders to Williams, although he has not been charged in any of those cases, and Williams himself maintains his innocence. In March 2019, the Atlanta police, under order of mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, reopened the cases in hopes that new technology will lead to a conviction.
The documentary series will examine the original trial materials and court documents, but also look at the “racial tensions and cultural clashes that brought Atlanta to a boiling point and caught the nation in a moment of transition.”
In terms of their official description, the FBI state that “Between 1979 and 1981, approximately 29 African-American children, teens, and young adults—mostly boys—were kidnapped and murdered. A majority of the killings shared common details. The FBI joined the multi-agency investigation in 1980. The investigation was closed following the conviction of Wayne Bertram Williams for two of the murders in 1982; after the trial, law enforcement linked Williams to 20 more of the 29 murders.”
Deadline have reported that the series “will offer a never-before-seen look at the killings of at least 29 African-American children and young adults that occurred over a two-year period in the Georgia capital — from the initial disappearance and discovery of two slain teenage boys and’ the fear that gripped the city to the prosecution and indictment of 23-year-old local native Wayne Williams and the rush to officially shut down the case.”
The series will also reveal a community which “desperately sought justice from the city and law enforcement officials during the crisis and found it heartbreakingly lacking, the series features fresh insights and interviews with key figures and experts, including the victims’ families, law enforcement officials, Williams’ defence attorney and Williams himself,” according to the press statement.
The Atlanta murders will also be portrayed in Season 2 of Netflix’s drama MINDHUNTER.
Elsewhere, some other notable documentary titles on HBO’s upcoming slate include McMillions – a documentary series which depicts the stranger-than-fiction story of an ex-cop turned security auditor who rigged the McDonald’s Monopoly game promotion for a decade – and Unmasking Jihadi John: Anatomy of a Terrorist – an examination of what propelled Mohammed Emwazi’s journey down a violent path despite US and British authorities being aware of his extremism.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
