Whenever a murder investigation makes headlines, a movie, TV show or documentary is basically guaranteed to be in development. Nowadays, true crime has become a major topic in Hollywood, including the Gilgo Beach murders. Amid a decades-long mystery, the Long Island serial killer inspired multiple media projects. From television specials such as a Lifetime production to a docuseries and a movie, there have been several projects unpacking what was once considered a cold case.
Below, see the movies, documentaries and TV shows that were inspired by the Gilgo Beach murders.
Untitled Netflix Docuseries
An untitled Netflix docuseries is in development exploring the investigation and arrest of Rex Heuermann in 2023. The doc’s director, Liz Garbus, told Netflix, “With the arrest of suspect Rex Heuermann on July 13 of this year, a new chapter began in the decades-old investigation of the missing and murdered women found in Gilgo Beach and beyond. And yet, just as some questions start being answered, new ones emerge.”
A release date for the docuseries is still unknown.
Lost Girls – Netflix
The 2020 drama Lost Girls was directly inspired by the cold case and stars Amy Ryan, Gabriel Byrne and Thomasin McKenzie in main roles.
According to Netflix, the synopsis of Lost Girls reads, “Desperate to find her missing daughter, a mother fights to uncover the truth — and helps expose a string of unsolved murders.”
The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice – Lifetime
According to Lifetime, the film stars Kim Delaney and Katharine Isabelle, and it explores “Mari Gilbert’s search for the truth behind what happened to her daughter Shannan, a sometime escort who disappeared after a ‘date’ on Long Island.”
“After Shannan fails to come home, her mother Mari knows something is terribly wrong,” the Lifetime movie’s synopsis reads. “Pleading to police to take her concerns seriously, she keeps pushing the police for answers. Mari’s insistence that her daughter not be overlooked eventually leads to a horror hidden on Long Island for more than a decade – 19 bodies of young women discovered buried in shallow graves along Ocean Parkway in the area of Jones Beach State Park. Though the search for the killer is still ongoing, Mari’s passionate dedication to giving her daughter and other forgotten women a voice, and the attention they deserve, has kept the case alive with hopes of a breakthrough soon.”