Overview
Whether you first heard about it on Wondery's Dr Death podcast, from the recent streaming drama of the same name or by reading the news, the tale of Christopher Duntsch conjures up all the terrors of a horror movie. As it should, given that the neurosurgeon is currently imprisoned for life after maiming and harming some patients, and killing others. In total, 33 people who went under his knife for spinal surgeries in the Dallas, Texas area during the early 2010s found their lives forever changed — or, in some cases, lost.
Thanks to the aforementioned dramatisation, which stars Joshua Jackson (Little Fires Everywhere) as Duntsch, these chilling events have been getting plenty of attention recently. You've probably spent some time this month binge-watching it, and been creeped out — again, rightly so — the whole way. And if you're now eager to find out more about this horrific case (not that 'eager' is really the right word when it comes to this kind of nightmare fuel), you can check out new docuseries Dr Death: The Undoctored Story.
Stan, which is also streaming Dr Death, will drop the four-part true-crime documentary on Friday, July 30. Obviously, if you've already watched the former, you'll already know some of the details covered by the latter; however, you'll also get to see some of the real-life figures involved chat about the story.
On the interviewee list: the real-life Dr Robert Henderson, Dr Randall Kirby and Michelle Shughart. In the scripted series, the trio were played by Alec Baldwin (Pixie), Christian Slater (Dirty John) and AnnaSophia Robb (Words on Bathroom Walls), respectively.
Dr Death: The Undoctored Story also features chats with Jerry Summers, the best friend that Duntsch's paralysed in surgery, and Wendy Young, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his two sons — as well as with other former colleagues, patients and lawyers from the trial.
Obviously given the details, this won't make for feel-good viewing, but it will let you dive deeper into this shocking tale.
Check out the trailer below:
Dr Death: The Undoctored Story will be available to stream via Stan from Friday, July 30.