This shocking new true crime podcast would be perfect for Netflix

Key insights

Wondery+ recently released a Kill List podcast about contract killing on the dark web.
Netflix should adapt this shocking podcast into a compelling true crime series.
A technology journalist's research reveals shocking truths in the new podcast.

True crime is still big business Netflixwith the continued success of the subgenre with a string of hits in recent months. Fans continue to be fascinated by the bad things people do and want more and more stories on the popular streaming platform. Wondery+ has released a fascinating podcast called Kill list on October 8, 2024, this would be perfect as a Netflix series.

Kill list delves into the dark world of the Dark Web and uncovers a shocking murder at a rental company that appears to operate there. The podcast is hosted by a tech journalist named Carl Miller, who discovered a list of people targeted for assassination on the dark web. The hitman genre has always been popular in crime fiction, but this podcast takes a look at the reality of this potentially lucrative business.

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Wondery+ just launched a new podcast called Kill List, all about contract killing on the dark web

Kill list
host	Carl Miller
Number of episodes	12
Produced by	Wondery+ and Roman

The synopsis for Kill list reads:

Every day hundreds of people go about their lives unaware that someone paid to have them killed. In the depths of the dark web, tech journalist Carl Miller makes a disturbing discovery: a secret “kill list” of hundreds of innocent people on a murder-for-hire website. When the police are slow to investigate, Carl must race against time to warn those in danger and uncover the truth before it's too late. From Wondery and Novel comes a shocking true story of obsession, control, and the price of life and death.

Episode title

The hack
Cold calling
First contact
The Doctor
Yura
Endgame
Beverly Hills
Berlin
Nancy
Knoxville
Sun Prairie Part 1
Sun Prairie Part 2

Kill List would be the perfect candidate for a Netflix true crime series

Carl Miller has uncovered the internet's darkest and most secret true story: a website dedicated entirely to contract killing requests. Of course, something like this requires a deep dive into the darkest places on the internet. However, what the technology journalist discovered was truly frightening and left podcast listeners on the edge of their seats. People gave orders to kill people like it was drinking coffee at Starbucks. The orders even specified how the victims should be disposed of. Options range from a drug overdose, an accident, to burning down a house. This all sounds very far-fetched, but it's not, and that's the shocking truth. It sounds like the plot of a Netflix true crime series, but it's not, well, at least not yet.

Kill list is of course a 12-part Wondery+ podcast series, but If Netflix has heard, they should call Carl Miller and his fellow journalists to adapt this shocking true crime story into one of their classic true crime miniseries. It wouldn't be the first time a podcast has been adapted into a true crime television series, but surprisingly, Netflix hasn't dabbled in converting podcasts on its platform into true crime series. However, Kill list could be the one that sets new standards as it's just too compelling to ignore.

Marshall Lewy, Wondery's chief content officer, knew the material they had was special and revealed more in an interview with Variety:

From the moment I first heard the shocking premise of Kill List, I couldn't believe what was being revealed. The Novel and Wondery teams have left no stone unturned to uncover the truth through impactful reporting and storytelling. It was truly an epic investigation and the resulting work is extremely compelling.

Carl Miller also shared his thoughts on the new podcast series:

This was the scariest, strangest and certainly most important work of my life. It was an investigation in which, at times, lives were literally at stake and which profoundly changed many of the people involved, including me. For four years we have had to do this work in secret and now we can finally come into the light to tell this story.

Miller is a great host and his investigations would be a good fit for Netflix. 12 episodes would probably be too much for Netflix to adapt, but there are episodes that would work better than others. For example, the very first episode would be a must-watch as it sets up the investigation. It turns out that while the Murder for Hire website didn't directly carry out the “attacks,” it was responsible for accepting money from people who expected a murder to be committed.