# Evil Genius (2018)

> A miniseries investigating a baffling bank robbery in which a pizza deliveryman wears a bomb around his neck.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/68174

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 4
- Episode runtime: 48 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary, crime, mystery
- Created by: Trey Borzillieri, Barbara Schroeder
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Kevin G. Calkins, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, Trey Borzillieri, Bill Rothstein, Brian Wells, Jason Wick
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8342862/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: eerie, unsettling, absurd, suspenseful, restrained

## What critics say

Audiences find this baffling true crime miniseries compelling and strange, with its audience rating of 7.5/10 signalling a positive reception.

## Synopsis

Evil Genius (2018) is a American true crime miniseries created by Trey Borzillieri and Barbara Schroeder for Netflix. Across four 48-minute episodes, it follows a baffling case that opens with the grisly death of a pizza man who robs a bank while wearing a bomb around his neck. Investigators including State Trooper Kevin G. Calkins and ATF Special Agent Jason Wick appear alongside narrator and co-creator Trey Borzillieri, while archive footage features figures such as Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Brian Wells. The engine of the story is the slow unraveling of how and why the crime happened, as each interview and recovered detail pushes the case into stranger territory. Dramatized reenactments are interwoven with real archival material, so each episode builds suspense around a puzzle that refuses easy answers. Tone is eerie, unsettling and oddly absurd, with a documentary sense of restraint. Fans of Making a Murderer, The Staircase and Wormwood will find resonance in its blend of real-world investigation and mounting mystery. This limited series suits viewers who enjoy the strange, factual side of American crime.

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