Netflix's Most-Watched Movie is a Mind-Bending True Crime With 18 Million Views

Summary

• There's a new true crime movie on Netflix.
• It's the chilling story of a young woman who ordered the murder of her own parents.
• The documentary immediately became the most watched movie on Netflix.

True crime movies and TV series are undeniably gripping because of the horrifying truth that documentary filmmakers uncover through careful research. After all, it's not just fiction that attempts to tap into our deepest fears; it's factual stories that show that these very fears surround us at every turn in real life, and that no one is immune to the terrifying possibility of becoming a victim of a violent crime.

In recent years, Netflix has been particularly prolific in the documentary realm, as the streaming service has begun to offer an increasing number of truly thoughtful and influential documentary projects, often prompting further investigation by authorities.

And now, on April 10, 2024, the streaming service's library has been updated with a new documentary that, while it only deals with a case involving one family, actually exposes a whole range of issues, from societal expectations and the pressures that come with them, to the experiences of immigrant families and their children. Without further ado, let's take a look at what this movie is and what the public thinks of it.

What is the New True Crime Movie About?

November 8, 2010. Ontario, Canada. Police received a call from 23-year-old Jennifer Pan, who claimed that a burglar had broken into her home where she lived with her parents, tied Jennifer up, and killed her parents. Yet, 5 years later, Pan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. So what happened?

That's the premise of the new documentary What Jennifer Did, directed by documentary filmmaker Jenny Popplewell, who made the Netflix doc American Murder: The Family Next Door, which became the most-watched film when it was released in 2020.

Going back to What Jennifer Did, the more the investigation deepened, the more inconsistencies were revealed. The main straw was the fact that Jennifer's father survived and came out of a coma, and his testimony finally convinced the police that the culprit was none other than the family's daughter.

Jennifer had been a model child all her life, she had a natural talent for playing the piano, and her parents had high expectations for her, hoping that she would become either a professional pianist or a pharmacist.

It was this pressure that seemed to affect Jennifer: she ended up lying to her parents about graduating from high school and going to college, and she started dating a local drug dealer. When her parents discovered the truth and forbade Jennifer to see the young man, she and her boyfriend hired three thugs to kill the Pan couple.

True Crime Doc That Became the Most-Watched Movie on Netflix

What Jennifer Did was added to Netflix's library on April 10, 2024, and the very next day it topped the list of most-watched movies in the US and entered the streaming service's Global Top 10 at an impressive #4, and two days later it hit #1, topping the Top 10s in the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other countries.

Overall, What Jennifer Did became Netflix's most popular feature-length addition, with an impressive 18 million unique views and more than 26 million hours watched during the week of April 8-14.

The film also topped the Global Top 10 this week, but dropped to second place behind Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp on April 17 (though given the very mixed reviews for the latter, it's likely What Jennifer Did could return to the top spot). However, the documentary still tops the regional charts, which indicates that viewers are intrigued by the story told in this true crime film.