"Making a Murderer," the Netflix show that captivated binge-watchers across the country earlier this year, is returning with new episodes, the company announced Tuesday.
In a press release, Netflix said the show’s executive producers and directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos are working on new episodes of the Emmy-nominated docu-series.
The new episodes are expected to take fans of the series "back inside the story of convicted murderer Steven Avery, and his co-defendant, Brendan Dassey, as their respective investigative and legal team challenge their convictions and the State fights to have the convictions and life sentences upheld," according to Netflix.
"This next chapter will provide an in-depth look at the high-stakes post-conviction process, as well as, the emotional toll the process takes on all involved," the company said.
The 10-part series dominated airwaves and social media after its Dec. 2015 release, centering on the story of Steven Avery’s 2005 conviction for the murder of photographer Teresa Halbach, as well as the related conviction of Avery's nephew Brendan Dassey.
"We are extremely grateful for the tremendous response to, and support of, the series. The viewers’ interest and attention has ensured that the story is not over, and we are fully committed to continuing to document events as they unfold" Ricciardi and Demos said in a statement.
The two have hinted at the potential for a second installment previously, but the announcement marks the first time Netflix has confirmed the news.
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Featured in the new episodes will be Avery’s new lawyer from suburban Chicago Kathleen Zellner and Dassey’s legal team, led by Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin of Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth.
Avery was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in Halbach's death. He had been wrongfully convicted years earlier in a rape case and served 18 years in prison before being freed. Avery sued Manitowoc County for $36 million shortly before he and Dassey were arrested in Halbach's death.
Avery, who is seeking to be released on bond, filed a wide-ranging appeal earlier this year claiming authorities used an improper warrant and that a juror was out to get him, among other things.
Dassey was arrested at the age of 16 in connection with case, but his attorneys maintain his confession was coerced. His legal team has taken Dassey’s case to federal court in Wisconsin in the hopes that he will be granted a writ of habeas corpus, which will force the government to examine his case and rule whether he has been imprisoned illegally.
Details on when the new episodes might air weren't immediately released.
