At this time, American Manhunt: OJ Simpson is #2 on the Netflix streaming charts, second only to Squid Game. While it certainly isn’t the first docu-series to be made about the prolific football player’s fall from grace, the recent release serves as a fresh look at the so-called trial of the century and fallout for a whole new generation. The four-part series does unpack quite a bit during its roughly five-hour runtime, though some Netflix users are skeptical about whether or not American Manhunt is worth the price of admission. Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a review of the documentary’s overall material, and a firm recommendation of whether to check it out based on your usual viewing habits, age and interests.
Unpacking ‘American Manhunt: OJ Simpson’
Netflix subscribers may recall catching Floyd Russ’ original American Manhunt docu-series back in 2023, which centered on the Boston Marathon bombers. Like the first season, the new episodes provide some fresh perspectives on a well-tread tale of legal proceedings and human interests. They center on the gruesome double homicide of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, who were stabbed to death in a violent 1994 encounter. Nicole’s ex-husband OJ Simpson was quickly fingered as the culprit, as LAPD investigators found mountains of evidence indicating his presence. Today, almost everybody knows OJ as a man who allegedly got away with murder, though it’s important to note that he was one of the biggest celebrities in the world before the landmark trial.
In 1994, Simpson was lauded for his highly prolific career as an NFL running back, as well as his brief but notable foray into screen acting. Some have gone so far as to call him the greatest running back of all time, as evidenced by his MVP and Heisman honors, among dozens of other accolades. If you were alive and upright during the 1990s, you certainly recall how all of this praise came to a screeching halt once the double murder trial kicked off, as Americans far and wide tuned in to see OJ accused of murder on television and in the news. American Manhunt essentially explains the details of OJ’s arrest, trial and shocking acquittal, which is still regarded as one of the most stunning legal upsets in pop culture history.
Does the Netflix Series Bring Anything New to the Table?
You may think that you’ve heard everything there is to hear about the OJ Simpson trial by now, 30 years after the court proceedings first kicked off. Surprisingly, American Manhunt actually does break some new ground, with first-ever interviews from key witnesses, investigators and members of the court. Specifically, LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman breaks his silence in the doc and finally declares, quite definitively, that he did not plant evidence at the crime scene, falsify documents and attempt to frame OJ for the murders. As you can expect, these words come too little too late, as Fuhrman was famously convicted of perjury for refusing to confirm these facts under oath. During the trial, he was outed as a loud-and-proud racist, after being caught on tape using racial epithets and describing the joy he derived from brutalizing Black civilians.
But Mark Fuhrman isn’t the only person to come forth on American Manhunt for the first time. The detective’s former colleagues, Philip Vannatter and Thomas Lange also speak about their experience collecting evidence from Nicole Brown Simpson’s home, even explaining at one point, “There was more evidence than I’d ever seen in my life.” Likewise, several civilian neighbors of Nicole offer testimonials in the documentary, explaining that they witnessed OJ discarding weapons, or recognized his voice. As Russ and his documentary crew comb through the volumes of evidence implicating OJ, it becomes harder and harder to understand exactly how Simpson ultimately beat the murder wrap. Of course, the series outlines the football player’s legal strategy as well, which heavily relied on villainizing the actions of Fuhrman and his associates, who muddied the case with their own perverted racial biases.
Is ‘American Manhunt: OJ Simpson’ Worth Watching?
If you lived through the media circus that surrounded the OJ Simpson trial and saw firsthand just how chaotic the entire affair became, you likely won’t come away from American Manhunt with any fresh conclusions. Many people still believe that Simpson was guilty of committing the murders, and attribute his acquittal to the social reckoning that was being wrought by the LAPD’s treatment of Black civilians during the 1990s. Much of the documentary’s narrative reaffirms this belief, especially by bringing up the fact that OJ was found liable for the deaths in a civil suit two years after the criminal trial concluded. If you’re young enough to have missed some of the finer details, however, American Manhunt: OJ Simpson is an extremely entertaining and in-depth look at the facts of the case.
Whether you’re interested in learning about the case for the first time, looking to sharpen your true crime knowledge, or just afflicted with a serious case of morbid curiosity, you should definitely consider giving this documentary a spin. It’s the first major project to cover the trial since OJ’s death in April of 2024, which allows some parties to speak unencumbered by their past, as perhaps feel that the book has finally closed on the whole situation. The doc isn’t a wealth of brand new information, and offers some really unsettling crime scene imagery, so it’s definitely not essential viewing – especially for the faint of heart. If you enjoyed Floyd Russ’ work on the first American Manhunt saga, you’ll definitely come away with a newfound appreciation for his filmmaking after catching this leg of the series.
