Homicide: New York is the latest five-part documentary series from the creator of Law & Order, Dick Wolf. Released on Netflix on March 20, 2024, the show is produced by Wolf Entertainment and Alfred Street Industries. Each episode has a runtime of about
The docuseries delves into the intricate details of some of the most infamous murder cases and provides a comprehensive account of the events leading up to the resolution of each case. The show features interviews with the detectives and prosecutors who were involved in solving these cases, offering a unique insight into the investigative techniques and strategies employed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Homicide: New York features Irma Rivera, Barbara Butcher, Bill Mcneely, Scott Wagner, Roger Parrino, Wally Zeino, Michelle Cramer, Anthony Veader, Steve Nuzzi, Richard Plansky, Rob Mooney, Al Titus PhD, Brian Mcleod, Barbara Coleman and several others.
Homicide: New York Review
Each episode of Homicide: New York unpacks one of the famous and brutal cases that left an impact on the team of officers featured in the documentary. The first episode delves into a shooting that left three dead and two injured in an apartment above the iconic Carnegie Deli, sending detectives on a relentless hunt for the killers. While it looks like a case without any leads or motivation to shoot five people in the head, everything becomes clear when two suspects are caught in the CCTV camera. But the big piece of the puzzle remained that the suspects had no direct link to the apartment owner, Jennifer Stahl.
However, she sometimes sold weed to her friends to keep her artistic passions floating and that made her a target of a petty crime that got out of hand. For the first episode, it was a comparatively easy case since one of the suspects turned himself in and they had evidence about the shooters as well. But it becomes quite clear what the direction of the show would be like.
It has a resemblance to the show Law & Order, in terms of treatment, sound effects etc. The only difference is that they are real cases but even it starts to look a bit fabricated as the detectives often put on an overly dramatic account of events, giving out great punchlines, akin to an actor.
Giving the benefit of the doubt, we move on to the next episode which features an eviscerated body found in Central Park Lake, and a pair of unlikely 15-year-old suspects are implicated in the killing. Similarly, instead of going into intrinsic details about the crime, what could have been the psychology behind committing them etc, the show is more interested in creating drama.
Despite being a perspective from the people who deeply investigated them, everything remains at the surface level with no different than a sensationalized cable TV show. The only good thing is that all these cases are solved, otherwise, the detective would be shown tearing up and adding frustration to the audience’s feelings.
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Although the content of the Central Park Slaying episode would send chills down the spine, since just some 15-year-olds rage murdered an adult man, for no apparent reason. Even though the work of the officers is commendable, it seems like they often get swayed by their young ages and aren’t even able to figure out the reason behind the murder.
Instead of analysing the criminals, we are more acquainted with various ‘not-like-others’ and quirky detectives, who helped crack the case with their eccentric personalities. It would have been a great addition to know these officers on a personal level but not at the expense of subject matter.
The third episode takes on the case from Wall Street, where a janitor mysteriously vanishes without a trace in a 26-floor building. No matter how much the police officers share their ordeal in trying to find missing Eridania, it just looks like a case of neglect when the body is found within the building. Knowing that Eridania didn’t leave the building at all, it would have been the first course of action to search every nook and corner and that means air vents, hidden space everything.
If only they were meticulous enough in actually searching and figuring out why the sniff dogs were taking them to the same place, they could have found the body before it decomposed badly. And it sounds really stupid to employ a helicopter to search when the missing person hasn’t even left the building.
At least they were able to catch the culprit by some sheer luck and sound judgement of a few. The fourth episode is about the stabbing death of a successful entrepreneur, Howard Pilmar, which remains unsolved for decades until an assistant DA and a detective reexamined the case.
Once again, no matter what rosy and hardworking picture the creators try to paint of the NYPD, the cases prove how lousy they have been at times. Something that could have been solved 20 years ago and them stating how they had a gut feeling but couldn’t convict the victim is just bad work. Even if things just happened to be that way, out of their control, the way the creators portray them doesn’t do justice to the actual good work. While trying to make it entertainingly dramatic, they do more harm than giving space to talk about such sensitive cases.
Lastly, for the fifth episode, they take up the case of a Harlem Serial Killer, targeting young women. This episode solidifies the fact that the show is nothing but a way to improve the police’s image when we hear an officer blaming the media for not covering cases about POC as much as other races, but he differentiates the Police Department by saying they don’t care about anyone’s skin colour, be it a victim or culprit.
Needless to say, the audience knows better than to force these false images onto them. Overall, if you feel like watching some old-style crime shows whose purpose is nothing more than superficial and dramatic entertainment, then Homicide: New York is the right choice for you.
Rating: 2/5
Homicide: New York is available for streaming on Netflix.
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