‘Web of Death’ Trailer Sees Internet Sleuths Tackling Unsolved Crimes in New Series From ABC News and Hulu (Exclusive)

In the era of social media and amid the surge in true crime’s popularity, a new figure has risen in the ongoing efforts to bring justice to victims and their families. Hidden behind computer screens and using information available to the public, internet sleuths have helped crack numerous cases, and their investigations are being put in the spotlight in Web of Death, a new six-part docuseries from ABC News Studios and Hulu set to premiere exclusively on Hulu on Thursday, Jan. 19.

Expanding ABC News Studios’ lineup of true-crime docu-series, Web of Death follows the investigations of amateur web sleuths as they use digital footprints, DNA databases, and social media to solve gruesome, mysterious, and bizarre murder cases. A trailer for the upcoming series shared exclusively with PopCulture.com asks, “When a case goes cold, who can you turn to to get to the truth?” as it teases that there are now “everyday people solving true crime.” Revealing that “in the United States, there’s 80,000 missing persons,” the trailer highlights the efforts from those outside of the police force to solve the cases that have all but gone cold, one woman telling the cameras, “The reason why I love the true crime community is because I can make a difference.”

The nearly two-minute-long trailer features real crime scene photos as amateur sleuths begin their investigations, one acknowledging that they “had zero investigation experience,” as another person adds, “but there was this investigator inside of me that wanted to go find more answers.” With a need “to go out and solve this mystery,” their investigations include searching public records, deeds, and social media, and sometimes even takes them to the scene of the crime itself. When police investigations reach a dead end, sometimes it is internet sleuths who find the clues needed to break the case.

Each episode of Web of Death chronicles a new investigation, putting the spotlight on a single amateur detective as they work to crack the cases police haven’t yet been able to solve. One episode will follow the case of a skull found inside a bucket of cement at a truck stop, with another episode chronicling the mysterious case of a Jane Doe in a California orchard. Other episodes in the anthology will see an amateur sleuth tracking down a lottery winner who suddenly disappeared and a father’s search for his teenage daughter’s shooter. Per ABC News Studios, “the program highlights the incredible persistence, attention to detail and vast networks that help these web sleuths find answers others could not.” 

Web of Death is one of several new true crime series from ABC News Studios. On Jan. 5, Death in the Dorms, which focuses on the tragic stories of six college students whose lives were cut short by violent crime, premiered. Killing County, an upcoming docuseries centered around Bakersfield, California and executive produced by one-time NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick, begins streaming in February.
 
Web of Death is produced by ABC News Studios in association with Blink Films. ABC News Studios’ Beth Hoppe and Blink Films’ Justine Kershaw and Lucie Ridout executive produce. The series premieres on Thursday, Jan. 19 only on Hulu.