Netflix unveils Michael Jackson docuseries

Netflix announced a three-part docuseries titled *Michael Jackson: The Verdict* on Wednesday, focusing on the singer's 2005 criminal trial. The series includes new interviews with key courtroom figures from the trial, alongside archival footage, testimony, and evidence reviews. Netflix released a trailer for the docuseries on its Tudum site the same day. 1/ Netflix's *Michael Jackson: The Verdict* revisits the 2005 trial where Jackson faced 14 charges, including child molestation and administering an intoxicating agent to a child. He was acquitted on all counts after a five-month trial in Santa Maria, California. 2/ The docuseries promises "new interviews from key courtroom figures," per Netflix's Tudum announcement. It aims to examine the case's evidence and testimony without taking a definitive stance, according to the trailer's framing. 3/ Jackson's 2005 trial stemmed from allegations by a 13-year-old cancer patient who claimed Jackson molested him at Neverland Ranch after giving him alcohol. Prosecutors presented evidence like adult magazines found in Jackson's bedroom; the defense argued it was a extortion plot by the family. 4/ The jury deliberated for 32 hours over seven days before acquitting Jackson on June 13, 2005. Jurors later said they found the accuser's family not credible, with one telling CNN the mother was "conniving." Jackson died four years later in 2009. 5/ This isn't Netflix's first Jackson project. *Leaving Neverland* (2019) featured accounts from two men alleging abuse; Jackson's estate called it "tabloid character assassination." The new series shifts to trial participants. 6/ No release date is confirmed yet beyond "coming soon" on Tudum. The trailer, clocking in at 1:45, opens with 2005 news clips and teases interviews with lawyers and witnesses. Watch it here:. 7/ Separately, Netflix added all nine *Rocky* and *Creed* films to its library on June 1. The franchise, starring Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan, has grossed over $1.9 billion worldwide. 8/ Jackson docs remain divisive. *Square One: Michael Jackson* (2019) argued his innocence; *Leaving Neverland* drew 35 million households in its first month on HBO before streaming. Expect similar buzz—and backlash—for this one. 9/ Netflix has leaned into true crime lately: *Monster* (2024) covered the Menendez brothers; *American Murder* series profiled cases like the Murdaughs. *The Verdict* fits the pattern of revisiting high-profile acquittals. 10/ For context, Jackson's estate settled a prior 1993 allegation for $23 million. No criminal charges stuck then or in 2005. The docuseries producers emphasize "fresh perspectives" from those in the courtroom.