Will The Empress on Netflix return for season 2?
Will Elisabeth be back in a second season of the hit German series?
Surprise hit The Empress took Netflix viewers by storm when it first debuted earlier this year, with fans of other popular period dramas such as The Crown and Bridgerton falling head over heels for the German historical series. The first season told the story of Elisabeth, also called Sisi (played by Devrim Lingnau), and fans have been crying out for a follow-up season following the end to season 1, which saw Sisi fall pregnant with her first child. It's clear that there's still a lot more of the tale that could be explored, but will the series be back for more, and if so, when will the new episodes debut and who will be in the cast? Read on for everything you need to know about The Empress season 2. Has The Empress been renewed for season 2? It has! Netflix confirmed on Tuesday 8th November 2022 that the series would be returning for a second season, with showrunner Katharina Eyssen saying: "I am incredibly grateful that we were able to touch so many different people in Germany and all over the world with our series. "The story of Elisabeth’s life is a story of the power of love, but also of the courage to be different, and of hope for a better future, and that is what we need at this time. That’s why we are very happy to be able to continue telling this exciting story." It has not yet been confirmed how long we will have to wait to see the new episodes, but while fans wait there's always the show's companion novel to keep them occupied, in which author Gigi Griffis has adapted the original Katharina Eyssen scripts to focus more on the early life of Sisi. Publishing editor Caoilnn Douglass said the following to Netflix's TUDUM: "I really like the idea of meeting this very famous woman before she becomes empress and not following her into that era that you think you know. That's another way that we build on the show and create a companion piece. It's her before the hype. Who was she really, and what did her earlier days look like?" It also gives fans the opportunity to inhabit the heads of the characters they've been watching on-screen, he explained. "When you watch the series, you're inherently kind of in the third person. You're not able to be in their heads. We were mirroring the series, the same things had to happen, but what we could do was kind of play around with their thought processes and get to those battles they were having internally." The Empress season 2 cast: Who will return? It's been confirmed that the following cast members will all be returning for season 2: Devrim Lingnau as Elisabeth von Wittelsbach Philip Froissant as Franz Joseph I of Austria Melika Foroutan as Sophie, Archduchess of Austria Johannes Nussbaum as Archduke Maximilian Almila Bagriacik as Countess Leontine von Apafi Jördis Triebel as Ludovika, Duchess in Bavaria Another cast member we would also expect to be back, but whose return has yet to be confirmed, is Elisa Schlott as Duchess Helene in Bavaria, Elisabeth's sister. When it comes to other characters there are of course a whole wealth of new figures from that period of history could also feature. We might also see more of the soon-to-be Nicholas II of Russia, who wants to abolish serfdom, and no doubt still harbours offence at being shown up by the Empress on a hunting trip. The Empress season 2 plot: What will it be about? We don't yet know exactly what the story holds for The Empress season 2, but we could make some informed guesses. For instance, there's the constant looming threat of war in Europe, as well as the ever-shifting plans for industrialisation and the impending birth of Elisabeth's first child. Only time will tell if we'll see any of that play out. Watch this space for updates. Is there a trailer available for The Empress season 2? There isn't a trailer available for The Empress season 2 just yet but we'll make sure to keep this page updated as soon as any new footage becomes available. For now you can rewatch the trailer for season 1 right here. View oEmbed on the source website The Empress is streaming now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.
Dahmer on Netflix: Tony Hughes's story should be a call to action
His story should not just be a heart-wrenching tale.
The story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was recently dredged up once again, this time by Ryan Murphy for Netflix, with Evan Peters playing the eponymous figure in DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The show has achieved record-breaking ratings, but it has also come under considerable criticism – including from the victims' families themselves. One particular victim who has captured a lot of attention due to an episode that was largely focused on him is 31-year-old Anthony Hughes (played by Rodney Burford). His family seemingly weren't consulted about the series, with his mother Shirley telling The Guardian that what plays out in Dahmer "didn't happen like that", adding: "I don't see how they can do that. I don't see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there." There's been extensive discourse about the moments surrounding his death, but much less interest in how he lived and the broader circumstances that made him particularly vulnerable. Hughes was born on August 26th, 1959. As an infant, he was given medication which caused him to lose his hearing, and he used sign language to communicate with those who understood, writing notes for those who didn't. Notably, Hughes used BASL (Black American Sign Language), a type of signing that was developed by d/Deaf Black Americans to better express the specifics of their expressions and experiences, which shares some similarities with AAVE (African-American Vernacular English). Hughes had aspirations to be a model, but as a gay, Black and deaf man living at the turn of the '90s, things were far from easy for him and tragically, his life was cut brutally short. Dahmer had befriended Hughes before inviting him to his apartment. It was there that he spent his final moments, like so many others before and after him. Hughes's experience gives us a real insight into the issues faced by disabled people, particularly those with other marginalisations, and how they are especially vulnerable to mistreatment and violence. Dahmer spotlights just how difficult it was for him to secure a steady job, not only on account of his race and disability, but also due to the relatively limited education and widespread fear-mongering about AIDS. It should be said that while 2022 is unrecognisable in many ways, with HIV/AIDS thankfully no longer a death sentence, and a raft of organisations doing good work to protect people like Hughes, there are still substantial social barriers in place for many. Disabled people may find themselves excluded from queer spaces, with some of the venues where queer people meet not always accessible for wheelchair users and lacking in interpreters. There are huge ethical questions to be asked of Dahmer – most prominently, should the series have been made at all? – but it does take the time to highlight what Hughes and his peers endured decades ago and what many people continue to face today. "Some people assume that one minority group is more likely to be accepting of another," reads one account on the website of disability charity Leonard Cheshire. "This is because both face challenges around access, policy, and social image. Unfortunately, I was treated as an outsider due to my intersectionality. This even happened within support groups and at identity-specific events." And the plight of Hughes and countless others isn't just limited to social exclusion; some people also face material consequences. Disabled people, queer people and people of colour face persistent employment discrimination. As a result, people in these groups are sometimes pushed into precarious and criminalised labour which puts them at risk of violence from both the state and malicious people – for example, sex workers are disproportionaterly disabled due to exclusion from conventional labour. Those combined racial and economic barriers likely played a part in the recent conviction of Ed Buck, who has been convicted of drugging vulnerable, queer Black men with methamphetamine in exchange for sex, with two men dying as a result. As witnessed in Dahmer, the work of Black and queer activists to bring attention to these issues was ignored by the authorities for years, allowing the serial killer to continue his reign of terror. That injustice is also front and centre in BBC drama Four Lives and ITV's Des, which both highlight how members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies were routinely ignored by police, in turn enabling Stephen Port and Dennis Nilsen to murder young queer men. Anthony Hughes's life and the tragedy of his death shine a light on the challenges faced by the multiply marginalised, and emphasise the essential role that we all have to play in calling out prejudice where we see it. His story should not just be a heart-wrenching tale but a call to action, prompting a collective effort to build a world in which people like Hughes are able to live full, dignified lives, because that is the very least all of us deserve. DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream on Netflix now. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.
The Empress true story: Who was Elisabeth von Wittelsbach?
The Netflix series charts the love story between Empress Elisabeth von Wittelsbach and Emperor Franz Joseph, but how much is fact versus fiction?
The Empress has landed on Netflix, telling the true story of the early life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. The six-part series focuses on the love story between Elisabeth (Devrim Lingnau) and Emperor Franz Joseph (Philip Froissant), and the impact their romance had on the royal court and society. Born in December of 1837, Elisabeth came from a notoriously eccentric line of the royal family - and her life certainly reflected that, from her rise to the throne to her untimely end. As is often the case with period dramas, The Empress merges fiction and fact, choosing a compelling love story over historical accuracy. So, who was the real Empress of Austria? Read on for everything you need to know about the real-life Elisabeth von Wittelsbach. Netflix's The Empress: Is the series based on a true story? Elisabeth von Wittelsbach and Franz Joseph's fairy-tale meeting As much as the circumstances which led to Elisabeth’s engagement to the Emperor seemed straight out of a Disney movie, they were for the most part true to life. While it is unclear whether there was a woods-based love at first sight moment, as featured in the Netflix series, the pair did meet as Franz Joseph visited his cousin Helene, who he was expected to marry. But after meeting Elisabeth he fell head over heels for her, informing his mother that if he could not marry Elisabeth, then he would not marry at all. Five days later, their wedding was announced. Even the farcical moment where the family ended up only having funeral clothes to wear because their other suitcase didn’t arrive in time was detailed in the show. However, one detail not mentioned is that in reaction to his proposal, Elisabeth supposedly said : "Oh, if only he were a tailor!" before adding, "One doesn’t turn down an emperor!" Elisabeth von Wittelsbach's age While the show doesn’t explicitly say much about the age of its leading lady, it does obfuscate one of the key details about her life - her age when she met the emperor. When Franz Joseph first visits the von Wittelsbach family, he was 23 while she was 15. In the series, it’s made clear that she is younger and more immature, but since the actors are both adults in their 20s (Devrim Lingnau is 24 and Philip Froissant is 28), the difference is less than obvious. Elisabeth von Wittelsbach's poetry In The Empress, we see that Elisabeth was a prolific poet from a young age, using this to release her innermost thoughts. This once again sticks very closely to what we know of her real life, where her work provided an escape. One of the most prominent parts of her work is a central repeating motif of the show: O'er thee, like thine own sea birds I'll circle without rest For me earth holds no corner To build a lasting nest. One thing the show doesn’t get into is how Elisabeth had a poetry alter ego. She would often sign off her work as 'Titania', who was the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Elisabeth von Wittelsbach's relationship with the people In The Empress, Elisabeth is shown to be loved by the people with an almost religious fervour; her mere presence in certain places is enough to spark riots. This popularity was very much true, with her being seen to have a part in several charitable ventures. She also has a significant cultural footprint, too, with her renowned youthful beauty and self-destructive thinness being lauded. Long after her death, she has inspired a wealth of adaptations based on her life, from operas and literature to ballet and more. A second season of the Netflix series hasn’t been confirmed as of yet, but if it comes, there is much more yet to be explored in the complex life of Elisabeth von Wittelsbach. The Empress is available to stream now on Netflix. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.
The Empress cast: meet the characters in the Netflix period drama
Introducing Empress Elisabeth von Wittelsbach...
In the midst of the popularity of The Crown, another show has come to challenge for the throne of Netflix’s reigning royal period piece. The Empress is a new show which follows the love story between Empress Elisabeth von Wittelsbach (Devrim Lingnau) and Emperor Franz Joseph (Philip Froissant), and the consequences that has for the court and contemporary society. This cast has a lot of talented up-and-comers who perhaps wouldn’t be immediately recognisable to English-speaking audiences. Here's everything you need to know about the cast of The Empress. Devrim Lingnau plays Princess/Empress Elisabeth von Wittelsbach Who is Elisabeth von Wittelsbach? Elisabeth von Wittelsbach is the focal point of the series as the woman who Emperor Franz Joseph decides to marry - much to the shock of everyone but Franz Joseph himself. She’s deeply in love with the emperor, but also feels severely constrained by the weight of the pressures that come with her position - especially with the powerful forces shifting all around her. Where have I seen Devrim Lingnau before? Devrim Lingnau made her screen debut in 2017, appearing in two episodes of German crime series Under Suspicion. She has had various TV appearances since then, and also had a leading movie role in Emily Harris's Carmilla, a film which follows the love story between a vampire and her prey, based on the Sheridan Le Fanu novella of the same name. Her most recent appearance was in a 2021 episode of Allmen, a show about the adventures of an unconventional art detective. Philip Froissant plays Emperor Franz Joseph Who is Emperor Franz Joseph? Philip Froissant features as the reluctant Emperor himself. Joseph is a deeply conflicted man, especially with the building pressures of war in Europe, but he has his own very different plans for the Empire. The main thing that he is persistently decided on is his love for Elisabeth - but even that is put to the test by all these worries. Where have I seen Philip Froissant before? Foissant’s career has been mostly focused on the theatre and not the screen, appearing in various roles across Germany. His most prominent on screen role has been in Netflix TV movie Black Island, directed by Miguel Alexandre. He plays the talented young orphan at the centre of the piece, who’s being manipulated by a newly-arrived teacher. Hanna Hilsdorf plays Amalia Who is Amalia? Amalia is one of the courtiers that surrounds Sisi and hopes to take precedence in court. She is a stickler for the rules and defines herself by her lifelong devotion to the royal family and specifically the Empress. Where have I seen Hanna Hilsdorf before? Hanna Hisldorf’s screen acting career started fairly recently with In The Fade (2017), a crime thriller about a woman seeking revenge for the deaths of her husband and child in a bomb attack. More recently, she featured in the biopic drama series We Children from Bahnhof Zoo. Svenja Jung plays Louise Who is Louise? Louise is a former courtier and romantic entanglement of Franz Joseph, and his attachment to her threatens to undermine his newfound love for Elisabeth. This becomes further complicated by her political ties that develop throughout the series. Where have I seen Svenja Jung before? The German actor has predominantly worked in TV, getting her big break in soap opera Unter Uns. Keen Netflix viewers might recognise her from her work on the renowned German supernatural TV show Dark. Wiebke Puls plays Sofia Esterházy-Liechtenstein Who is Sofia Esterházy-Liechtenstein? The Countess was the confidante of Princess Sophia and worked as the Oberhofmeisterin (Mistress of the Robes) to Elisabeth, ruling the royal court with an iron fist and attempting to force Elisabeth into conforming to etiquette. Where have I seen Wiebke Puls before? Puls has been seen across German TV and film. Much like a few of her other co-stars, she appeared in a single episode of Under Suspicion, this time as a psychologist. Other appearances include business-based drama Open Season and countryside comedy My Life in Orange. Elisa Schlott plays Helene Who is Helene? Helena is the older sister to Elisabeth, and the woman who Franz Joseph was initially set on marrying. Now she’s been put in a strange position, wronged by Elisabeth but still holding potential sway as the sister of the Empress. Where have I seen Elisa Schlott before? Schlott got her start with TV show Das Geheimnis von St Ambrose in 2006, before taking various roles in film and TV from Losing Balance to Gaming Instinct, and ongoing mini-series Our wonderful years. One of her notable recent appearances is as Greta Nussmeier in this year’s TV series adaptation of Das Boot. Melika Foroutan plays Princess Sophia Who is Princess Sophia? Princess Sophia of Bavaria is the mother to Franz Joseph, and one of the key players in the Hapsberg court. Even with her son now married she has immense sway, including operating control over the nation’s security forces that brutally supress rebellion. Where have I seen Melika Foroutan before? Foroutan is the veteran actor, first appearing in 2000 in German court show Streit um Drei and appearing in a wide variety of TV shows over the years. This includes a 2011 appearance in Under Suspicion, the same show her co-star Lingnau got her start in. More recently, she starred in Netflix thriller Old People in 2022. Johannes Nussbaum plays Archduke Maximilian Who is Archduke Maximillian? Brother of the Emperor, Archduke Maximilliam is the playboy of the family, leaving chaos and spurned lovers in his wake. In The Empress, he has just been called back to court as one of Franz Joseph’s counsellors. Both his deviousness and his tendency towards chaos pose a tremendous threat to his brother and our lead Elisabeth. Where have I seen Johannes Nussbaum before? Nussbaum got his start in the award-winning Austrian film Import Export, and has since take on a wide range of roles. Perhaps one of his more recognisable roles in the English-speaking world is a part in Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life, which follows a conscientious objecter in Nazi Germany. Alexander Finkenwirth plays Alexander von Bach Who is Alexander von Bach? Alexander von Bach was one of the closest advisors to Emperor Franz Joseph and his Minister of the Interior. He was largely disinterested in law and wanted to instead push industrialisation throughout the empire, which he saw as the best way to strengthen it. Where have I seen Alexander Finkenwirth before? Alexander Finkenwirth has almost exclusively worked in TV, from an appearance in family crime show The Peppercorns, to joining his co-star in the TV adaptation of Das Boot. He has also appeared in a few short films like Cigarbox Blues and Herzberg. The Empress is streaming now on Netflix. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.
True story behind Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes
Netflix is digging deeper into the crimes of the Milwaukee serial killer.
Netflix is digging deeper into the crimes of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in a brand-new season of Joe Berlinger’s Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes. Featuring unheard tapes between Jeffrey and defence attorney Wendy Patrickus, the three part series will look into Jeffrey’s psyche after he was arrested and confessed to killing and dismembering 17 boys and men – many of whom were queer men of colour – over a period of 13 years. The documentary follows Ryan Murphy's DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which was released on the streaming site on 21st September and features actor Evan Peters as Dahmer. The Netflix series aims to put Dahmer's victims at the centre of the story and also looks at those in the community who suspected Dahmer, and those who could've done more to save his victims - but didn't. With the release of the latest documentary, below we take a look at the true story behind Jeffrey Dahmer’s murders, revealing which parts of the series were dramatised and which parts are authentic. The confession At the centre of a large portion of the drama series is Jeffrey Dahmer’s confession, which is the bridging point for delving into different parts of his life. Given the reality that most of his victims were killed by him, he is the most definitive source on his own crimes. This makes it hard for us to really get a firm grasp on the events that happened when you consider that Dahmer was allegedly extremely drunk during his killings. So tragically, there is a lot that will likely never come to light. What you perhaps wouldn’t know from the show is that the interrogation which brought about his confession went on for a whopping 60 hours. The detectives portrayed on the show, Detective Patrick Kennedy and Detective Dennis Murphy, were real, but some of the specific dialogue was made for the show (since the report is not an exact transcript). It's also worth noting that while the show frames the initial interrogation as the source of (most of) the information given about Dahmer's early life, there are also details from later interviews with publications like MSNBC and Inside Edition which influence the story being told here. The Dahmers One big area of contention in the facts is the exact family circumstances in which Dahmer grew up. Lionel (his father), Joyce (his mother) and Jeff himself all gave very different impressions of the circumstances in which he was raised. In his book A Father's Story, Lionel alleged that Joyce was very dependent on a concoction of drugs around the time of Jeffrey's birth and was a severely mentally ill hypochondriac. Joyce largely refuted these claims and pointed out Lionel's frequent absences from the house due to his doctoral studies. In the end, their differences would result in a divorce in 1978 which saw Joyce get custody of her youngest child, David. Where truth and fiction lie in regards to the killer's upbringing is largely dependent on who you believe more. The series hedges on whose perspective it thinks holds more weight, with Jeffrey himself appearing to hold minimal resentment towards either of his parents. Tony Hughes While some of the extras in the Ryan Murphy series, like Joyce's patients, are composite characters, like the documentary, the series mostly focuses on Jeffrey's real victims and people who actually existed. One exception to this is in episode 6 of the drama, which is titled Silenced, and focuses on Tony Hughes (played by Rodney Burford). It's unclear how much of this episode is fictionalised, but it seems that the specific friends Rico (Jared DeBusk) and Rufus (Michael Anthony Spady) are composite characters constructed to provide a useful insight into the experiences of deaf gay men in the early 1990s. The same goes for Tony's experience with photographer Duane (Matt Steele), which again takes a slightly looser approach to the facts to give a broader idea of his specific experiences. The police A significant portion of DAHMER on how the police failed the communities being preyed upon by Dahmer. As shown by the use of the direct transcript at the end of episode 2, it would be hard to fabricate something more shocking than the real actions of the police in this case. However, there are still points of DAHMER's portrayal which are worth discussing. The first of which is that the show implies towards the end that the racist abuse directed at the families of the victims came (at least partially) from serving police officers. However, it's unclear if there is publicly available evidence of this happening. The other main point relating to the police that the show doesn't cover is that John Balcerzak, one of the two men who found 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone with Jeffrey and refused to take action, was later elected to be president of the Milwaukee Police Association. He headed the organisation for four years from 2005 to 2009, even surviving an expulsion attempt. This is perhaps the one area that The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes offers a lot more detail on, with first-hand revelations from those who worked on the case back then. As well as recorded conversations between Wendy and Jeffrey, we also hear from members of the police force. Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes arrives on Netflix on 7th October 2022. DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Read more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what else is on. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story fails to challenge worst true crime drama tropes
Ryan Murphy's new Netflix series aims to subvert the usual missteps of the genre – but ends up contributing to them.
Jeffrey Dahmer has been the subject of many works, from films to documentaries to podcasts, and now Netflix had released a series with Evan Peters playing the notorious Milwaukee Cannibal. One of the big critiques of the true crime genre is that it often disregards the lives of victims and focuses instead on the people who hurt or killed them – with this being especially true for media that surrounds serial killers. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story – co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan – has been marketed as having subverted that approach, choosing instead to be told from the perspective of his victims. And while it does make some effort to distance itself from the worst of the genre, it still ends up falling short. The first five episodes are very much focused on the eponymous killer and don't do much to give attention to his victims or their families – instead, it’s Dahmer’s childhood, alcoholism, struggles with his sexuality and arguments with family that are in the foreground. This feels especially egregious when it comes to the death of Konerak Sinthasomphone, the 14-year-old boy who Dahmer killed. While the show is critical of the racist and homophobic police response depicted, and later displays the trauma of his family, you never get a sense of who this child was as a person. As such, he becomes less of a human and more of a prop to demonstrate how evil Dahmer was. Beyond the first five hours, the victims and their families do begin to take focus. Arguably the most compelling part of the miniseries is the 15 minutes which focus on Tony Hughes (Rodney Burford) and his friends living life as deaf queer men in 1991. It's one of the few times where it feels like the victim is a person and not just a tragedy waiting to happen. On top of that, whenever Niecy Nash (playing Dahmer’s neighbour Glenda Jackson) is on screen, she steals the show and makes everything we’re seeing feel more grounded in the trauma of the people affected. However, those moments are still too few and far between. Instead, the camera moves back to the Dahmer family and gives us more about them. If the case for Dahmer not being exploitative lies in its focus on the victims then it fails, because Murphy et al cannot let the Dahmers be off-screen for long. There are moments of attempted critique on the culture through which murder and death become entertainment, as seen when one of Jackson's co-workers asks her if she'd ever seen one of the 'zombies' Dahmer made. Still, this is ultimately a show defined by that cultural context dominated by Netflix documentaries with varying levels of ethics and a broader exploitative true crime media industry. This means that so much more time is spent trying to portray all the different things that could have caused Dahmer to kill, and his methods of doing that, than we see of the lives of his victims before they encountered him. The misplaced priorities also emerge when the series brings notorious serial killers Ed Gein and John Wayne Gacy into frame. With the latter, we get a graphic on-screen recreation of one of his kills, which introduces another victim that we are told next to nothing about. While this does add a poetic analysis of the period of time in America that was particularly rife with serial killers, there isn't a real attempt to centre the victims of that violence, because the focus of the series remains ogling gruesome murders and the man who performed them. Even the seemingly genuine desire to give some more weight to the victims and their families succumbs to the theorising and grim fascination. That fascination becomes even more of an issue when we consider that the victims of Dahmer were near-all queer and/or POC - with over half of them being Black gay men. Serial killers tend to prey on marginalised communities (especially if those people are poor and/or sex workers), so the use of these deaths as fodder for bingeable entertainment feels fraught - even more so if the families whose loved ones are shown on-screen don't give permission.‌ The exploitation of the suffering of marginalised people for entertainment, grim fascination and financial gain isn't exclusive to Murphy and Brennan's DAHMER – it isn't even exclusive to true crime. From The Birth of a Nation to the wealth of "trauma porn" queer media, there is a long history of this sort of exploitation in western media – but Netflix’s latest does little to subvert or defy it. In fact, despite efforts to the contrary, DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story ends up contributing to a toxic cycle. DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream on Netflix now. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.
Cobra Kai: How does season 5 set up the potential next chapter?
Whilst season 6 of the hit Netflix show is still unconfirmed, we've had a think about what could come next...
Cobra Kai season 5 might only just have landed on Netflix, but already thoughts are turning towards future instalments of the hit martial arts drama. The latest instalment of Cobra Kai revolves around the fight against Terry Silver, who has taken over the titular dojo and is spreading his influence across the valley. Season 5 ended with an explosive and action-packed finale that really scattered a lot of the big players of the series. It's a series that has repeatedly brought back characters from the franchise and managed to fold them into the story in interesting ways, so the question going into a (not yet announced) potential season 6 is – who is there left to bring back? And where can the show go from here? Read on to find out what could potentially lie ahead for season 6, though be warned: there are full spoilers for season 5 ahead. What happens at the end of Cobra Kai season 5? The biggest question left unanswered by the end of season 5 is what the fate of the eponymous dojo will be. With Silver on his way to prison, Kreese on the run and Johnny Lawrence completely uninterested, there seems to be no leadership for Cobra Kai. However, it does seem that the newly introduced sensei Kim Da-Eun could use Cobra Kai to complete her dream of bringing her family’s Way of the Fist to the world stage. But what is a dojo without students? The revelations of Silver’s activities have left Cobra Kai’s students disillusioned, so it’s not entirely clear that there will even be a dojo to take to the world stage. World tournament The scale of the show is getting a lot bigger than the Valley, with Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Fang headed to square up with the best dojos on the planet. While season 5 really began to break out of the shell of American Karate with the introduction of new non-American sensei in the Cobra Kai cast, it seems that season 6 could shed it almost entirely. That means we'll hopefully get the opportunity to see a whole load of different styles that'll be fun to watch and shake up the fighting we see on screen. New life We know that Carmen and Johnny have a baby on the way. Now, the series has always played a little fast and loose with timelines so we don't know if we'll get to the birth of the baby in any potential sixth season, but the pregnancy itself still sets up some interesting stakes regardless. We've already established that Robby and Miguel are happy about their new little sibling on the way, but how will the stress of the competition bear down on the parents? And how will Johnny split his time between preparing his students for the next level with looking after Carmen and his family's future? Young love Earlier, it was looking like the show's central teen romances would both be left in disarray, but now things are looking up. After Sam took some space to figure herself out, the lingering romantic tension between her and Miguel finally came to a head and their declarations of love at the end of the season suggest the romance is back on. Similarly, Tory and Robby aren’t yet on firm ground but after their joint takedown of Silver, things are looking up for the pair. Whether the trials and tribulations that season 6 brings will take these young lovers apart or bring them even closer together is yet to be seen. All we know is that given their history there is certainly room for more drama there, even after their team-up. Will there be a Cobra Kai season 6? There are also some loose ends that could come back to bite in season 6. One of these is Hector, Miguel's father who Carmen ran to the US to get away from. It's clear that after seeing the dark side of the man, Miguel is done with him – but what's less clear is whether he is done with Miguel. And what does that mean for the baby on the way? And then there's Mike Barnes and Stingray. While Silver may have succeeded with his fear tactics and manipulation so far, there's no telling as to what could happen now that the balance of power has shifted. Maybe Barnes runs off into the sunset with his Rembrandt, or maybe the taste of the action he got means that he’ll remind everyone why he was known as the bad boy of karate. Read more: Cobra Kai season 5's big Karate Kid cameos explained Kenny, the bullied new student who Robby took under his wing at Cobra Kai and then went on to be manipulated by Silver, is presently pretty lost. He built his new life at this school on the basis of being Cobra Kai’s most impressive new member, but since he’s now broken out of Silver’s manipulation it’s hard to tell what the future holds for him. John Kreese is now a man on the run – after a daring escape he’s now out and ready to make his presence felt. Though what exactly the former sensei will do now is deeply unclear. On the one hand, with Silver out of the picture, he could once again try to take the reins of Cobra Kai. On the other, he was clearly deeply affected by the rejection he received from his ‘best pupil’ Johnny Lawrence, so maybe he could finally try to make amends. Whatever he does, it’s sure to be a key part of any future season. So far Netflix is staying quiet on whether there will be a season 6 of the Karate Kid follow-up, but if the show does get renewed it seems like fans have an exciting time ahead of them. Cobra Kai season 5 is now available to watch on Netflix. You can also read our guides to the best Netflix series and best Netflix movies to keep you entertained, check out our Drama hub for more news, interviews and features, or visit our TV Guide for more to watch. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.
Cobra Kai season 5's big Karate Kid cameos explained
Here's where you last saw those returning cast members in the franchise. **Warning: Season 5 spoilers**
In season 5 of Cobra Kai, the past continues to haunt LaRusso and the martial artists of the Valley. After all, the big bad is Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), who also antagonised LaRusso throughout The Karate Kid Part III – and he’s not the only one returning from the third film in the trilogy. There are a few assorted cameos in the Netflix show, like the appearance of former UFC fighters Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson as Silver’s new allies, while NWA wrestler Luke Hawx also appears halfway through the season. However, for long-time fans of the Karate Kid franchise, there are two big cameos that need to be discussed. Here's everything you need to know about the characters. Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) Joining the fray this season is yet another Cobra Kai alum - Mike Barnes, the “bad boy of karate”. A puppet of Kreese and Silver in The Karate Kid Part III, he was their main hope for regaining the championship title and showing the dominance of Cobra Kai once and for all. In the lead-up to the All Valley championship, Barnes and his crew also terrorised LaRusso and his friend Jessica, going so far as to nearly drop them off a cliff. In the end, the young LaRusso just about defeats Barnes in a sudden death round after being pummelled by him for most of the fight. As we meet him in Cobra Kai, his life is much different. His days of karate and being a terror seem to be over. Instead, he runs a furniture store with his wife and seems very content - at least until the drama of the current season comes to find him. Jessica Andrews (Robyn Lively) Another star of the last movie of the trilogy also makes an appearance this season, Lively reprises her role and is well beyond those teenage days dating Daniel LaRusso. When we first saw her character 33 years ago, she was being terrorised by Barnes alongside LaRusso, so it’s interesting that she and her former bully are back in the new season. Her appearance in Cobra Kai bears some similarity to Ali’s (Elisabeth Shue) cameo where she gave some moral support at the exact right time. This time, Jessica is giving the support to Amanda as the episode reveals that the pair are actually cousins. After the episode, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be seeing more of Jessica but who knows what the future holds? Cobra Kai is a show that has repeatedly brought back characters from the franchise and managed to fold them into the story in interesting ways, so the question going into a (not yet announced) potential season 6 is – who is there left to bring back? But until then, you can watch all 5 seasons of Cobra Kai on Netflix now. Cobra Kai seasons 1-5 are available to stream on Netflix. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight. The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.