The Netflix documentary series "Unsolved Mysteries" may remind something of those who grew up in the 80s and 0s and for good reason: this format has already been adapted in France and has marked a whole generation of viewers!
In the Unsolved Mysteries series, available on Netflix, unresolved crimes or paranormal phenomena that would have really taken place are reconstructed in documentary form. It is actually the reboot of a cult American television program, broadcast between 1987 and today, which has known multiple versions, passing from one channel to another (NBC, CBS, Lifetime, Spike ...) over the decades. There are 15 seasons and nearly 600 episodes. The 2020 version was designed by Shawn Levy, including producer of Stranger Things.
In France, the original series was broadcast under the title Extraordinary Investigations between 2004 and 2006 on RTL9, narrated by Pierre Bellemare. But it was also adapted in the 90s on TF1; a local version considered as cult today by all those who grew up at that time and who had often defied the prohibition of their parents to watch it anyway, when it was not recommended for children and frankly frightening in its implementation scene! Next to Lost or Everything is possible, Mysteries was part of a wave of sensational shows that hit audiences but sparked heated debate in the media.
In this case, Mysteries maintained a vagueness between the true and the false, and took very far-fetched stories very seriously, without ever questioning their veracity and going so far as to try, via plateau experts, to bring rational answers to scientifically impossible phenomena. Before each broadcast, a sign even indicated that all the stories told were true ... One of the stories that stood out the most was that of "the bleeding house" (to review here). The show was just as interested in various truthful facts as that of the Waco sect in Texas, as in legends (The White Lady, the Brocéliande Forest, the Bermuda Triangle, the Loch Ness Monster ...) or stories of UFOs, treasures, haunted houses or reincarnations. A clever mix that quickly tired the public and Mysteries finally died out after 2 seasons and 20 broadcasts. But his aura is still intact!
The trailer for Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix:
