I'll Be Gone in the Dark
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Jun 28, 2020
User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 25
  3. Negative: 4 out of 25
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User Reviews

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  1. RJinPHL
    Jul 30, 2020
    4
    When I heard about this series I was very interested to follow it but its been all about Michelle and not much about the serial killer and/or tracking him!
    I realize that she was obsessed with this since her teens and that ultimately her obsession may have been a direct cause of her untimely death mixed with self-medication. Ok. That’s another story but not the story I was signed up to    When I heard about this series I was very interested to follow it but its been all about Michelle and not much about the serial killer and/or tracking him!
    I realize that she was obsessed with this since her teens and that ultimately her obsession may have been a direct cause of her untimely death mixed with self-medication. Ok. That’s another story but not the story I was signed up to see! I remember hearing the news when she died and I understand Patton’s own passion to celebrate his wife but HBO would have better served to be honest about what this series really was - and it consequently was more of a chore than thrilling!    … Expand
  2. UncleWillard
    Jul 11, 2020
    3
    I get it, a very talented comedian lost a wonderful wife, and what better way to honor her memory than making a true crime show depicting her passion for it. One part mediocre crime series, one part subjective biographical tribute. I feel this is 75% about her and that is just not that compelling to me.
  3. geewah
    Jan 14, 2021
    7
    What Michelle achieved is interesting enough without having to delve too deeply into her background story which this docu-series does. Could of been tighter on the case and specifically Michelle's work and therefore an epsiode or 2 shorter

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best TV Season of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. The Detroit News
    Reviewed by: Tom Long
    Aug 14, 2020
    83
    A parade of rape enactments threatens to drag and a halo hangs dangerously over McNamara’s head at times. But “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” always rights itself and ends up both engrossing and enlightening. It doesn’t have all the answers — no one does — but it asks the right questions in the right way.
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  2. Reason.com
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    Jul 29, 2020
    80
    A skillful editor probably could have trimmed 90 minutes out of I'll Be Gone in the Dark that wouldn't be missed.
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  3. CNN
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jul 13, 2020
    70
    I'll Be Gone in the Dark isn't your usual, run-of-the-mill crime docu-series, which explains why it's a bit of a structural mess. Too drawn out at six parts, at its best it's a deeply personal ode to the late author and amateur crime sleuth Michelle McNamara, her dogged work to catch the Golden State Killer, and a sweetly told love story with comic Patton Oswalt.
    Read full review
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