Netflix’s Four-Part Monster of Florence Sparks Debate

Netflix’s The Monster of Florence is a new four-part series that reexamines the still-unsolved Il Mostro killings from 1968–1985. The series reconstructs crime scenes and revisits competing theories — including a Sardinian “Meles” trail — while the director says the project could help bring justice and critics warn it dramatizes and simplifies decades-long investigations. The show is part of a wider streaming surge in international true-crime and horror content that has topped charts and provoked debate over dramatic liberties. Critics and creators say audience fascination with serial killers and systemic failure fuels demand, but some caution against a “Netflix-ization” of real pain that can sensationalize victims’ suffering.