Summary
The classic seriesUnsolved Mysteriesis the gift that keeps on giving to cold case and paranormal phenomena fans, with hundreds upon hundreds of episodes to show for and more still yet to come. As its title suggests,the documentary-style TV show created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurerexplores a range of unexplained cases, from true crime whodunits to supernatural stumpers,and has done so since the late 1980s. In 1987, to be exact,Unsolved Mysteriesbegan as a procession of TV specials before burgeoning into a full-fledged series in 1988, hosted by Emmy-award-winning actor Robert Stack.
The series churned out episodes for nearly four decades- thoughits run wasn’t always easy.Unsolved Mysteriesran through a handful of hosts, encountered periods of low ratings, and survived numerous cancelations and syndications, which saw it hop from network to network across its broadcast history. Yet, the show’s endurance throughout has come to prove just how special the mystery documentary is, something that Netflix was aware of when it picked up the series after a decade-long hiatus.Unsolved Mysteriesarrived on Netflix in 2020, marking an exciting return for the series and extending its lengthy episode catalog further.
15 Best Unsolved Mysteries Episodes
The popular true-crime series Unsolved Mysterious gets viewers thinking about the mysteries presented. Here are the show’s best episodes.
607 Of Unsolved Mysteries Have Released (As Of July 2024)
600 Episodes and 7 Specials Across 17 Seasons
As of July 2024,Unsolved Mysterieshas released 600 episodes and seven TV specials, investigating multiple cases within each episode or special. As alluded to before,Unsolved Mysteriescommenced as a series of seven NBC television specials, which were presented by Raymond Burr, Karl Malden, and Robert Stack and explored cases, including but not limited to, The Unabomber, the disappearance of Wanda Jean Mays, and the mystery of Beale’s treasure. NBC then picked upUnsolved Mysteriesas a full-fledged series hosted exclusively by Stack and aired nine seasons from 1988 to 1997.
By the time Netflix was ready to try its hand at revivingUnsolved Mysteries, the series had produced a whopping 581 episodes altogether.
Due to poor ratings,Unsolved Mysterieswas canceled at NBC after season 9, which started a vicious cycle of broadcast difficulties and the efforts of numerous networks to revive the series. CBS, Lifetime, and Spike all tried in some capacity to keepUnsolved Mysteriesgoing.Although the series never lasted more than two years on any post-NBC network, it still generated scores of episodesand explored hundreds of cases. By the time Netflix was ready to try its hand at revivingUnsolved Mysteries, the series had produced a whopping 581 episodes altogether.
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Unsolved Mysteries Moved To Netflix With Season 15 In 2020
Unsolved Mysteries Returned With Some Changes
WithUnsolved Mysteries’potential but tumultuous broadcast history in mind,Netflix revived the series within a new format. Whereas previousUnsolved Mysteriesseasons typically presented various mysteries per episode and accentuated them with host narrations and dramatized reenactments, Netflix’s seasons, or volumes, have been stripped down to a more conservative documentary style. They consist of episodes focused on one story at a time and incorporate interviews over using narrations and reenactments.Netflix’s new direction forUnsolved Mysteriesunsettled some original series fans, but otherwise the TV show as a whole seems to be faring well on the streaming service.
Stranger Thingsexecutive producerShawn Levy partnered with Cosgrove-Meurer Productionsto produce the revivedUnsolved Mysteriesseries on Netflix.
Unsolved Mysterieshas maintained itself on Netflix for four volumes since 2020, with a new volume of four episodes set for release in time for Halloween this year (perVariety). The fifth installment comes off the back ofUnsolved Mysteries’recently released fourth volume, which inspired the series' current trending status (no. 2 ofNetflix’s top 10 TV shows in the U.S. today). In the wait for volume 5,viewers can accessUnsolved Mysteries’volume 1 through 4 on Netflixand can stream or buy previous seasons of the series on various sites.
10 Shows To Binge If You Like Unsolved Mysteries
True crime fans can’t get enough of Netflix’s rebooted Unsolved Mysteries. For your next binge-worthy crime series, check out these recommendations.
Where To Watch Past Seasons Of Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries Is Available On Multiple Streaming Sites
Though Netflix now helms the series, the streaming service doesn’t haveUnsolved Mysteriesseasons other than the volumes it produced available for streaming. Viewers will have to look to other sites and streaming services for episodes that predate Netflix’s revival, and even then,it’s hard to find every episode from seasons 1 through 14 accounted for and available to watch, rent, or buy. It’s not unusual for series ofUnsolved Mysteries’age or length to have inaccessible episodes for many reasons, such as a platform’s rights to the series or episodes' suitability for streaming.
That said, as of this writing,Tubi, Pluto TV, Xumo Play, The Roku Channel, and Prime Video offer limited episodes ofUnsolved Mysteriesseasons 1 through 12 for free. Streaming service Plex also offers limited episodes from seasons 1 through 12 for free but has an array of episodes from season 14 to stream as well. Additionally, if interested, viewers can shop from a selection ofUnsolved Mysteriesepisodes for $1.99 per episode on Apple TV and Google Play.
Unsolved Mysteries
Cast
Originally debuted in the 1980s, Unsolved Mysteries is a documentary-styled mystery television series that explores various cold cases and supernatural reports left unexplained. Using re-enactments, interviews, and presenting evidence and theories, the show attempted to explain some of these bizarre cases that were left unsolved, with episodes requesting for viewers to call in if they had any information on anything presented. The show has been shelved and revived several times on several different networks, with modern changes to the format to keep up with the changing television landscape.
