The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez: Season 1

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Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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7.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 4 Ratings

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The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

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Season Details & Credits

Netflix | Season Premiere Date: February 26, 2020

Summary: The six-part documentary series from Brian Knappenberger looks into the case of an 8-year-old killed by his parents in 2013 and the cracks in the child protective services system that failed to protect him.

Genre(s): Movie/Mini-Series, Documentary

Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E6. Gabriel's Voice
Air Date: February 26, 2020
tbd
S1:E5. Improper Regard or Indifference
Air Date: February 26, 2020
tbd
S1:E4. Death Has Got Him by the Hand
Air Date: February 26, 2020

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Critic Reviews

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Feb 24, 2020

Netflix’s new true crime six-part series “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” is one of the toughest things I’ve ever watched. ... More than a mere TV special could possibly do, “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” digs deep into the case in ways that we rarely see in projects like this. ... It is also fascinating and informative as a procedural in terms of how high-profile cases like this unfold. Read full review

Joel Keller

Feb 27, 2020

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is a very difficult show to watch. But it’s one of those that’s a must watch, because it’ll show you how the government agencies that are supposed to protect children can often fail, often for very stupid reasons. Read full review

The Daily Beast Nick Schager

Feb 26, 2020

If Knappenberger’s series sometimes lingers too long on certain narrative elements, the motivation for such minor missteps is pure: to convey the full extent of Gabriel’s agony and Pearl and Isauro’s villainy. ... It succeeds at inciting outrage at the wide-scale callousness that caused this nightmare to occur. ... It’s a sprawling, heartbreaking portrait of true evil. Read full review

Brian Lowry

Mar 18, 2020

Documenting a horrifying story from every conceivable angle, "The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez" examines the abuse and murder of an eight-year-old boy by his mother and her boyfriend, and the ways that the system failed to protect him. Difficult to watch, the documentary is inevitably compelling but structurally messy -- a byproduct, perhaps, of stretching the material over six parts. Read full review

Ed Gonzalez

Feb 24, 2020

The uncomfortably ominous reenactments of this series—by and large suturing devices between interviews and courtroom footage—do nothing to enhance our understanding of the Gabriel Fernandez case. At times, they even work against what we already do know. Read full review

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User Reviews

aydge89

Apr 16, 2020

Absorbing, riveting and very disturbing. A tragic story about an abused child that also doubles as an examination of the institutions and systems that were designed to protect him. Highly recommended.

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dolphat99

Mar 2, 2020

Absolutely disturbing and disgusting story but very well done and kept me coming back for the next episode. Had to turn off at some points because the details were too much. Complete failure of the system for this poor boy.

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