Hulu expands its true crime selection with 'Dead Asleep' and 'Captive Audience'

(Image credit: Hulu)

Folks have eaten up true crime media over the years, whether it be through podcasts, scripted series, or in-depth documentaries. Hulu will be expanding its true crime portfolio in the coming year with two new series. Dead Asleep will be a one-off documentary, with Captive Audience falling under the docu-series category.

Here's what we know about the upcoming docs so far.

Dead Asleep

Produced in association with Sky Crime, Dead Asleep is meant to flip the script on traditional true crime formats and dive deeper into a more troubling mystery. Here's a snippet from Hulu:

Did a remorseful Randy Herman Jr. really commit a brutal murder in his sleep, or was it a convenient cover story? Pulse Films has secured exclusive access to Herman and his family, the defense and prosecution attorneys, journalists who covered the case, forensic psychiatrists and world experts in violent parasomnia (sleep-walking) to give viewers an inside look at the shocking twists and turns of the controversial crime.

Captive Audience

Back in 1972, young Steven Stayner disappeared on his way home from school. Nearly a decade later, Stayner returned home to his family. The new docu-series Captive Audience will take a look at the dramatic homecoming, legal reforms, the made-for-TV movie, and the "Stranger Danger" movement that all sparked from the strange disappearance.

Here's a look at a snippet from Hulu's official synopsis:

This limited documentary series explores the evolution of true-crime storytelling through the lens of one family’s 50-year journey and two brothers; one deemed a villain and the other a hero. It’s about how truth becomes story and story becomes truth—on TV, in the justice system and in our minds.

Amelia is an entertainment Streaming Editor at IGN, which means she spends a lot of time analyzing and editing stories on things like Loki, Peacemaker, and The Witcher. In addition to her features and editorial work, she’s also a member of both the Television Critics Association and Critics Choice. A deep love of film and television has kept her happily in the entertainment industry for 7 years.