Disney+ has come under fire for its new miniseries The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, which dramatises the notorious murder case of British student Meredith Kercher. The eight-part series, which premiered today on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally, has been criticised by Kercher's family and commentators for its perceived lack of purpose and insensitive tone.
Kercher's sister, Stephanie, previously told The Guardian: 'Our family has been through so much and it is difficult to understand how this serves any purpose.' The series focuses on Knox, the American flatmate who was wrongfully convicted of Kercher's murder in 2007, along with her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and local drifter Rudy Guede. After spending nearly four years in jail, Knox and Sollecito had their conviction quashed in 2011, were reconvicted in 2014, and finally acquitted by Italy's Supreme Court in 2015. Guede served 13 years of a 16-year sentence before being released in 2021.
The series has been driven by Knox, who has already told her story in two memoirs, a 2016 Netflix documentary, and several podcasts. Critics have questioned the need for yet another retelling, particularly one that adopts a jarringly light and jokey tone. Showrunner KJ Steinberg, known for This Is Us and Gossip Girl, presents Knox as a quirky student, with hammy scenes and inappropriate black humour. The drama also attempts to emulate the film Amélie, which Knox and Sollecito claimed to have watched on the night of the murder, using colourful vignettes and magical realism.
The series has been criticised for its inconsistent tone and romanticised portrayal of events, with clichés such as fading voices during interrogations and a metaphorical trapped bird. The irreverent millennial narration, reminiscent of other true-crime dramas like Inventing Anna, has been described as detracting from the severity of the case. Despite the understandable desire for Knox to reclaim her narrative after a gross miscarriage of justice, many viewers are left questioning the purpose of this latest dramatisation.
