Acquitted in 2011 of killing her daughter in Florida, Casey Anthony is set to break her silence on the controversial murder case in a documentary series debuting soon.
The three-part Peacock limited series, Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies, is set to air on Nov. 29, 2022 and promises Anthony’s perspective – for the first time ever – on the disappearance and murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, as well as the ensuing charges, the nationally captivating trial, and the concomitant media circus that accompanied the case from the beginning.
In a statement to Variety, director and showrunner Alexandra Dean outlined the series’ mission and content in broad terms:
Since her acquittal in 2011, public opinion of Casey Anthony has been largely shaped by the media convinced of her guilt. What emerges over the course of multiple interviews recorded over six months is a startling psychological portrait of Casey Anthony and a complete narrative of what she says happened to her daughter weighed against multiple sources of potential evidence. I believe the result will surprise many and cause the American public to look at this story in a new light.
The filmmaker also told the industry publication that Anthony, controversially acquitted on first-degree murder and child abuse charges, had no creative control on the program, was unable to offer “notes” on the production – filmmaking jargon for constructive criticism – and that her team had “complete editorial control.”
Regardless of how the documentary was put together, however, voices on social media savaged the basic idea – a series premised on the subject’s point-of-view — even being produced in the first place.
“Casey Anthony is a child murderer and y’all are sick fucks giving her camera time in a desperate ploy to get people to subscribe to your terrible streaming service that hasn’t produced a single good show that wasn’t a remake,” Philadelphia-based sports blogger Tyler Conway tweeted, along with a link to the trailer for the show.
Many others shared similar perspectives.
“Casey Anthony is a blatant narcissist who killed her own daughter,” cartoonist Toon Brains said via Twitter. “You’re giving this monster exactly the attention and fame she’s always wanted. Absolutely disgusting.”
Others offered more muted criticisms.
“Documentaries lately seem to be obsessed with humanizing (and failing, at that) bad people,” tweeted sportscaster Jon Alba.
Still more voices online compared the series to the recent Netflix fiction series about the life and trial of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer – which was heavily criticized after its release. Others compared the decision to the spiked What If..?-style, would-be memoir by O.J. Simpson.
The Anthony series is likely to become a lightning rod of similar criticism for NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
“I don’t have a peacock subscription but if I did I would cancel it over this,” tweeted CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski.
Some people said they would or did do exactly that:
This is morally bankrupt. Just cancelled my @peacock subscription.
Who else is with me? #CancelPeacock https://t.co/YKohlz27wO
— Ryan Gorman (@GormoExJourno) November 8, 2022
And some searched for nuance amid the controversy.
“She’s the only person who really knows what happened in this case and she’s never spoken extensively about it,” tweeted writer and true crime podcaster Christopher Duett.
“That’s compelling enough for me to watch her lie her ass off for a few hours to see if anything she says is new or different from her previous statements and defense claims.”.
[Image via screengrab/Peacock]
