Blumhouse Television will continue to explore the terrors of real-life monsters by expanding its “Worst Ever” franchise with “In-Laws” and “Friends.”
The true-crime docuseries streams on Netflix and is co-produced by ITV America; in addition to the new themes, the franchise will also bring back “Worst Neighbor Ever” for a second season.
“Worst Ever” will continue to be victim-driven, giving the people who suffered through these horrific situations the opportunity to tell their own stories, a process that’s usually not allowed when the cases are going through the court system, said Cynthia Childs, a producer and director on the series.
“A lot of times, headlines, news stories — they can actually be wrong, they can be missing a lot of the context,” Childs said. “We focus on cases that have been adjudicated … the facts of the case are known at that point.”
The docuseries have been a hit for Netflix — each previous installment of “Worst Ever,” which include themes about ex-partners, neighbors and roommates, has reached the top 10 on the streaming service and in Nielsen ratings for TV shows. The franchise has been in the Netflix global top 10 for a total of 17 weeks and a total of 13 weeks in the Nielsen streaming originals top 10 since 2022.
Gretchen Palek, head of alternative at Blumhouse Television, attributes the show’s success to the careful and sensitive approach to telling these terrifying experiences while highlighting real-life universal anxieties.
“The fear of not knowing who someone is, the fear of not knowing who to trust, and the fear of danger hiding in plain sight,” she said. “I think the franchise is compelling because these are not distant or unimaginable threats. They’re people in relationships that we can sort of all recognize, and the horror comes from how easily it can and unfortunately does happen to us.”
Katie Long was one of the people featured in Season 2 of “Worst Ex Ever,” which documents true crime stories about relationships gone wrong.
(Netflix)
While exploring these anxieties through different angles, “Friends” and “In-Laws” emerged as natural extensions of the franchise, according to executive producer Jordana Hochman.
“The strength and DNA of the ‘Worst Ever’ format are what allow it to work so well across multiple subject matters,” she said. “Whether we’re telling disturbing stories of malicious and murderous roommates, exes or neighbors, every case features highly relatable relationships gone wrong, one red flag at a time.”
The franchise is Blumhouse’s only TV production, but horror continues to be a common thread, said Palek. Over the years, the production company founded by Jason Blum and Amy Israel has found success with film franchises like “M3GAN” and “Paranormal Activity.”
The documentary format allows them to tell stories about monsters that aren’t imagined.
“There are a lot of very real monsters that walk in our very real world that we like to tell those stories in a [documentary] and unscripted format, those are the stories that sort of stay with you after you’ve watched, that really get under your skin,” Palek said.
While working on these series, Childs and Palek were surprised to learn how often people lie.
“There’s a lot of lying and I’m just not that proficient of a liar,” Childs said. “When you’re watching a police interview and then they’re just lying through their teeth and that some humans have the ability to do that, it’s a good reminder because I can be a little naive sometimes.”
With the world full of different real-life monsters, Childs sees longevity in the show. The team says their ability to handle each tragedy with care and sensitivity allows them to expand to other subject matters while also exploring existing themes.
“There’s plenty of roommate stories still out there to tell, and there’s no shortage of exes,” Childs said.
“I would love to just be doing stories about Frankenstein, but there are very real monsters that walk among us,” Palek added.
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