One of the best things I’ve ever watched
I must have watched O.J.: Made in America about three times in full over the last five or six years. It’s not only the best documentary I’ve watched; I’d put it among the best things I’ve ever watched, in any format.
I went into it as a complete outsider to the US, without much knowledge of American politics or NFL football. I barely knew anything about the incident beyond the name O.J. Simpson. The series covers his background, the racial and political climate at the time, the legal system, and the case itself in a genuinely interesting way. Despite how much ground it covers, it never feels stretched.
That’s something I really appreciate, especially compared with a lot of Netflix true-crime documentaries I’ve watched lately. Sometimes a story that could have been told in 30 minutes gets stretched into ten episodes, repeating the same points and trying a little too hard to convince you that this was the most important event in the world.
O.J.: Made in America never gave me that feeling. By the end, I genuinely understood why this was considered the trial of the century. It didn’t have to force that impression on me.
Not knowing much about the case probably made the first watch even more amazing. But even on my second and third watches, I wasn’t bored. I don’t remember wanting to skip a single second.
What I watched afterwards
The documentary sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole. I ended up watching a few other things about the same case:
- The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story: A decent watch. It’s a more dramatised take on the story rather than a raw documentary.
- American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson: Another good watch, although it follows some of the typical Netflix true-crime documentary patterns I mentioned above.
- Original trial footage on YouTube: I also watched parts of the actual trial. It’s still amazing how much of the original footage is available to watch in full on YouTube.
Worth keeping?
Absolutely. If someone asked me for one documentary recommendation, this would be very close to the top of the list. It’s rare for something this long to hold up so well after three complete watches.
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