More so than arguably any other style of storytelling under the sun, murder is something that Netflix subscribers can never seem to turn down. Whether it’s a feature film, TV show, miniseries, documentary, or anything in between, death and dismemberment can always be relied on to power its way up the charts. Just like clockwork, then, Close to Home: Murder in the Coalfield has come out of the gate swinging.
Per FlixPatrol, the German-language mystery thriller has taken only 24 hours to become one of the streaming service’s most-watched episodic offerings, having entered the Top 10 in 41 countries around the world. That puts it as the sixth top-viewed TV title available on a global scale, and don’t bet against it rising higher yet as word of mouth and social media buzz continues to build.
The story is predicated on the unexplained death of a 17 year-old girl near the titular coal mine, with a lead investigator recently returning to his hometown being assigned to crack the case. Partnering up with a more seasoned veteran, it’s not just bodies that the duo begin digging up, as secrets long thought buried threaten to make their way to the surface and cause even more chaos.
Beginning as a fairly straightforward whodunnit, Murder in the Coalfield eventually evolves into something else, and while experienced murder fiends will no doubt be able to predict the majority of twists and turns coming from a mile away, that doesn’t make the journey to get there any less entertaining. For the novices, though, there could be plenty of jaw-dropping shocks and surprises in store.
