The “Making a Murderer” creators definitely expected backlash

After watching all 10 episodes of Making a Murderer in one sitting, we’ve been watching the developments behind Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey’s legal troubles pretty closely. We’ve also been watching the support and backlash and general opinions from a number of people involved with the series.

We’ve heard from Steven’s attorney Dean Strang and his exes Jodi Stachowski and Sandy Greenman. Teresa Halbach’s family heartbreakingly weighed in too. We’ve learned that Discovery is hard at work on a followup special. Even the White House weighed in, saying they couldn’t do anything about the petitions to exonerate Avery circling the Internet even if they wanted to.

Now, we’re starting to hear more from the filmmakers behind Making a Murderer, Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. At a news conference yesterday, they spoke out about the media’s continued interest in the case and the backlash they 100% expected to receive.

“The media are demonizing this man in order to prove his guilt,” said Ricciardi.

Ricciardi and Demos would not, however, comment on whether they think Avery is innocent or guilty. Instead, they turned the conversation to the shocking state of the criminal justice system, reiterating that this was the subject of the series from the beginning. Guilty or not, Steven Avery is just one person who has fallen victim to its questionable practices.

Demos elaborated, saying that “if you watch the series, I think it’s clear that the American criminal justice system has some serious problems and that it is urgent that we address them.”

The intent of Making a Murderer was always to question whether or not Avery was treated fairly. Prosecutors are outraged, claiming the series does not include certain evidence against Avery. Many individuals have stated that the documentary is extremely one-sided, in favor of Avery, and doesn’t tell the entire story. But Ricciardi and Demos say they did their best to present all facts fairly. They also pointed out that the prosecutors declined to be involved.

“We did not consider this advocacy journalism in the last,” said Demos. “We are not taking sides. We don’t have a stake in his character, in his innocence or guilt. That was not the question that we were raising.”

So what does the future hold for these two filmmakers? Are they working on a follow-up with Avery? Maybe prepping for a second season? The short answer is yes to both. For now, they’re open to whatever interesting story comes their way.

“We are ready to follow if there are significant developments and we are looking at other stories, as well,” said Demos.

(Featured image via Netflix.)