Part two of Making A Murderer could unmake a conviction

By Maggie Donahue | October 19, 2018 | 5:00am

TV Lists What's On Tonight

Part two of Making A Murderer could unmake a conviction

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

Making A Murderer: Part 2 (Netflix, Friday): It has been three years since filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi uncovered inconsistencies in the evidence in a 10-year-old murder case. With 2015’s Making A Murderer, the world became entranced with the story of Steven Avery, who was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering photographer Teresa Halbach, and his nephew Brendan Dassey, who was allegedly coerced into confessing that he and his uncle had committed the crime. The documentary series fueled widespread doubt about their guilt when new evidence suggested they had been framed by the police, and in the process helped to propel the true-crime genre into the mainstream.

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Since then, both Avery and Dassey have appealed for retrials. Dassey’s was granted by a lower court and a three-judge panel, which ordered his release; a full appeals court overturned that decision, maintaining that he would fulfill his life sentence. Meanwhile, Avery’s appeal for a retrial was denied. Part two of the Netflix series follows both men through the post-conviction process as they serve life in prison, and shows the emotional toll their conviction has had on them and their families. After part one’s ambiguous ending, part two will hopefully give some closure, and see justice carried out.

Regular coverage

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW, Friday, 9 p.m.)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Saturday, 11:30 p.m.)

Wild card

Wanderlust (Netflix, Friday): As a society, we’ve more or less come to the conclusion that monogamy = a healthy relationship. But for Joy (Toni Collette) and Alan (Steven Mackintosh), polygamy may be the only way to keep their relationship afloat. After a cycling accident sheds new light on their marriage, Joy, a therapist, suggests that they each sleep with other people. In order to reinvigorate—and ultimately save—their marriage, the couple will cleanse their palettes (so to speak) in the hopes of coming back to each other with renewed interest. With a script by Nick Payne (The Crown) and direction by Lucy Tcherniak (The End Of The Fucking World) and Luke Snellin, Wanderlust promises to be a contemplative dramedy about the meaning of love and how monogamy does or doesn’t play into it.