''Murder Mountain'', originally marketed as ''Murder Mountain: Welcome to Humboldt County'', is an American
true crime
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...
documentary television
Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries.
Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film.
*Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...
series that premiered on
Fusion TV
Fusion TV was an American pay television news and satire channel owned by Fusion Media Group, a multi-platform media company subsidiary of Univision Communications, which relied in part on the resources of its parent company's news division, No ...
on September 23, 2018.
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
picked up the series and it premiered on the platform on December 28, 2018. The show covers an area of
Northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
's
Humboldt County, including the local
marijuana industry, and multiple disappearances and murders that have occurred in the surrounding mountain range. Much of the show follows the case of 29-year-old Garret Rodriguez, a cannabis grower who was found murdered in the region in 2013.
Episodes
Reception
''Murder Mountain'' has received mostly positive reviews. Writing for ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'', Melissa Leon said that though it is "not the next ''Making a Murderer'' ... ''Murder Mountain'' is an eye-opening watch". Lea Palmieri of
Decider wrote, "if a weed farm and several unexplained missing persons doesn't add up to a compelling binge-watch, then nothing does". For Film Inquiry, Tom Bedford describes the series as “a fascinating insight into unique communities, unexplored lands, and disenfranchised voices.” It was the most streamed documentary on Netflix up to that point.
Officials in the
Humboldt County area criticized the series and expressed worry over the potential long-term effects on local tourism and economic development. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office questioned the accuracy of the series, calling it "one side of a highly sensationalized story".
See also
*
Alderpoint, California
Alderpoint (formerly, Alder Point) is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California at an elevation of , east-northeast of Garberville. Its population is 137 as of the 2020 census, down from 186 from the 2010 census. The ZIP Code i ...
*
Michael Bear Carson and Suzan Carson
James Clifford Carson ( Michael Bear Carson; born 1950) and Susan Barnes Carson (aka Suzan Bear Carson; born 1941) are American serial killers convicted for three murders between 1981 and 1983 in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Ar ...
*
Emerald Triangle
The Emerald Triangle is a region in Northern California, named as such due to it being the largest cannabis-producing region in the United States. The region includes three counties in an upside-down triangular configuration:
* Humboldt County, ...
*
Sasquatch (TV series)
''Sasquatch'' is an American true crime documentary television series that premiered on Hulu on April 20, 2021, with a South by Southwest pre-release screen on March 16, 2021. The show begins with investigative journalist David Holthouse's recall ...
*
Sequoia County, California
Sequoia County was a proposal in the early 1990s, to create a new county out of parts of Southern Humboldt and Northern Mendocino counties in California. The 1992 proposal halted signature gathering due to low support. The proponents of the prop ...
References
External links
* on
Fusion TV
Fusion TV was an American pay television news and satire channel owned by Fusion Media Group, a multi-platform media company subsidiary of Univision Communications, which relied in part on the resources of its parent company's news division, No ...
* on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
*
{{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018)
English-language Netflix original programming
Netflix original documentary television series
True crime television series
2018 American television series debuts
Cannabis in California
Works about cannabis trafficking
Television series about illegal drug trade
Crimes in Humboldt County, California