HBO's True-Crime Docuseries 'I'll Be Gone in the Dark' Is Dropping a New Follow-Up Special

The six-part HBO true-crime series hit streaming last year — and now it's returning for a one-off special.
Sarah Ward
June 17, 2021

If you spend your free time binging on true crime, then you would've watched I'll Be Gone in the Dark last year. The HBO docuseries honed in on the Golden State Killer, who terrorised California between 1974–1986, committing more than 100 burglaries, over 50 home-invasion rapes and at least 12 murders. More than that, the show explored the case through writer Michelle McNamara, who had been kept wondering about the culprit over the years and decades — because, astonishingly, no one was sentenced for the Golden State Killer's crime spree until August 2020.

McNamara's own tale is filled with intrigue, too, which the series also explored. She'd spend her nights spent sleuthing through unsolved crimes and penning the blog True Crime Diaries while her family slept. Fixating on the Golden State Killer actually led McNamara to writing an article for Los Angeles Magazine, plus a book deal. But before she could finish her manuscript, McNamara — who was also married to comedian Patton Oswalt — died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in her sleep. Her book I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer was published two years after her death, and before an arrest was made in the case, with the six-part HBO series stepping through this whole scenario.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark's central figure was interested in other cold cases, too — and, because seemingly everything can return these days (and not just beloved sitcoms), the show is now coming back for a special follow-up episode to delve further into her obsessions. Viewers can expect to hear more about McNamara's work on cold cases in general, and to dive into one that affected her deeply: the rape and murder of Kathy Lombardo back in 1984, which happened in McNamara's hometown of Oak Park, Illinois.

Once again, McNamara's own archival research and voice recordings will play a big part. The one-hour special episode will also feature interviews with residents of present-day Oak Park, all as part of a broader musing on how unsolved crimes cause their own traumas.

In Australia, it'll be available to watch on streaming service Binge on Tuesday, June 22 — in line with when it airs in the US on HBO.

Check out the trailer below:

I'll Be Gone in the Dark's special follow-up special will be available to stream via Binge on Tuesday, June 22. 

Top image:HBO.

Published on June 17, 2021 by Sarah Ward
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