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Netflix's Trial By Media examines some of the most sensational court cases of recent years. Its first episode focused on the murder of Scott Amedure in 1995. During a secret crush confessional segment of Jenny Jones' talk show, Scott Amedure professed his love for his friend Jonathan Schmitz (which was unreciprocated). Thee days later, Schmitz, feeling embarrassed, fatally shot Amedure, and the segment never aired on the talk show.
The episode focuses on the murder trial, in which Schmitz was charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in 1999. He was released in 2017.
Additionally, it focused on the culpability of Jones' show, and whether or not the ambush television tactics were responsible for Amedure's death. She and the producers were sued for $25 million. Ultimately, it was ruled that the talk show "had no duty to anticipate and prevent the act of murder committed by Schmitz three days after leaving the studio," according to Variety.
Perhaps the most haunting and memorable part of Trial By Media's first episode is the deeply moving credits sequence. Sensational and loud clips from the Jenny Jones Show are shown, along with a clip from the day Schmitz was released from prison in 2017. The epilogue also noted that neither Schmitz nor Jones did not respond to a request to be part of this episode.
These videos are juxtaposed with a nearly silent sequence focusing on photos of Amedure. The episode quickly cut to old pictures of Scott with his family and friends, growing up and in the army. Without all the noise of the previous clips, you can focus more on the fact that someone lost their life. Each image is shown for a few seconds like a slide show, and the last featured him and his family.
This bold choice for the credits sequence underlines what makes this true crime show, different from other true crime shows. There is an emotional element that not many other true crime shows manage to hit. There is an aftermath for everyone affected, including the family of the victim.
Viewers see the victim in the old photos, and what happens to those considered responsible is revealed. Jones remained on the air until 2003 and stood by the idea that she and her show were not responsible for Amedure's murder. Schmitz's release from prison came early.
This focus at the end of the episode leaves viewers thinking about the episode, perhaps more so than we usually do in the age of skip-credits and binging all there is to binge. They might even consider how ambush television of this sort really can affect its viewers.
Viewers also might think about what could have been, if events didn't unfold the way they did. Amedure's brother Frank is heavily featured in the episode, and even posited that if Scott were alive today, he would be working in television, just like the documentarians.
Trial By Media is available to stream on Netflix.
