Netflix is slated to release a docuseries entitled Murder Among the Mormons based on the Mormon murder mystery of 1985, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Being produced by BBC Studios, the upcoming series revisits the bombings in Salt Lake City which threatened the Mormon community. In 1985, a series of pipe bombs killed two people and injured another when one exploded in a car near the Mormon Temple and another was left for Mormon bishop J. Gary Sheets but actually killed his wife. It will premiere on the streaming service on March 3.
Directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and Tyler Measom (An Honest Liar) the true-crime docuseries will follow “one of the most shocking crimes to have taken place among the Mormon community and the criminal mastermind behind it all,” via The Hollywood Reporter. The directors – both of Mormon faith – stated, “For generation of those raised in the Mormon faith, ourselves included, the story of the 1985 bombings in Salt Lake City will forever be a part of the mythology of the culture. It was a tragic and complex episode in Utah’s recent history, two innocent people lost their lives and countless others were deceived,” they added, “However, most people in the community prefer not to talk about it. The allure and infamy of the story – the bombings, the Salamander Letter, Mark Hofmann – seem more relevant today than ever and we wanted to be able to share this remarkable tale from the perspective of those who actually lived it,” via The Hollywood Reporter.
Regarding the Netflix synopsis of the upcoming series, The Hollywood Reporter shares, “The murders send further shockwaves through the community when a trove of early Mormon letters and diaries are found destroyed in the vehicle of the third victim, Hofmann, who was a renowned collector of rare documents including the infamous White Salamander Letter.
The three-part documentary, executive produced by Hess, Measom, Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost), and Ryan O’Dowd (The Hero), will serve the purpose of retelling a shocking event that devastated an entire community of people.