True crime is hardly a new phenomenon on television, and neither is the controversy that often surrounds retellings of horrifying real-life tragedies. More than 40 years ago, CBS aired a miniseries about an infamous series of murders in Atlanta. It boasted an all-star cast led by Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones, but “The Atlanta Child Murders” also drew criticism.
Airing in two parts in February 1985, “The Atlanta Child Murders” dramatized the investigation into more than two dozen murders of Black children and adults that occurred in Georgia’s capital from 1979 to 1981. Freeman and Jones both played fictional composite characters, a detective and chief of police, respectively. Other actors, like Rip Torn, Martin Sheen, Jason Robards, and Gloria Foster, played real people. Bill Paxton also played a memorable role.
The second half of the five-hour miniseries focused on the trial of Wayne Williams (Calvin Levels), who in 1982 was convicted of murdering two adult victims. He wasn’t convicted of any additional crimes, but the authorities were able to link Williams to a further 19 murders. The killings stopped after Williams was apprehended, though there are those who doubt his guilt.
“The Atlanta Child Murders” screenwriter Abby Mann told The New York Times he didn’t “believe Wayne Williams’s guilt was proven” and that he wanted viewers to question the prosecution and alleged breaches of legal ethics. Freeman himself told The Washington Post that he thought “one person was not responsible for all of the killings.” Atlanta officials accused the show of being irresponsibly loose with facts, and CBS agreed to add a disclaimer saying parts of the narrative were fictionalized.
Several other TV shows have told the story of the Atlanta Child Murders case
The Atlanta murders and the lingering doubts following Wayne Williams’ conviction have been dramatized several times. In 2000, Showtime aired a TV movie titled “Who Killed Atlanta’s Children?” It stars James Belushi and Gregory Hines as two journalists who reported on a conspiracy that the Ku Klux Klan committed the murders and framed Williams.
In 2019, the murders were the main focus of the second season of “Mindhunter,” one of the best Netflix shows based on true stories. “You could probably do three seasons on the Atlanta Child Murders,” showrunner David Fincher said on KCRW’s “The Treatment” podcast. “It’s a huge and sweeping and tragic story. We couldn’t do it justice in the background of our nine hours.”
That same year, Atlanta police reopened the case hoping that advancements in DNA technology would allow them to make a new breakthrough, and in 2020, HBO premiered “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children,” a five-part documentary series focused on the crime and new evidence. It’s one of several great true crime shows streaming on HBO Max.
