Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

The notorious Cecil Hotel grows in infamy when guest Elisa Lam vanishes. A dive into crime's darkest places.

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel (2021) is an American true crime miniseries created by Joe Berlinger for Netflix. Across four roughly fifty-minute episodes, it revisits the disappearance of hotel guest Elisa Lam, whose case grew into a haunting public fascination after she was reported missing from the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. The engine of the series is the slow reconstruction of her last known movements, built from security footage, investigators' accounts and journalists who followed the case, with actors recreating scenes such as Viveca Chow in the role of Elisa Lam. Real figures including LAPD homicide detective Greg Kading and journalist Josh Dean speak on camera, while Pablo C. Vergara appears as a self-described witness whose perspective keeps the investigation grounded. Each episode layers testimony onto the grim atmosphere of a hotel with a notorious history, so the viewing experience feels unsettling, methodical and deeply melancholic. Its framing sits closer to the investigative tradition of The Jinx and Making a Murderer than to scripted crime drama, and it will appeal to viewers who enjoy patient, evidence-driven true crime that refuses easy answers and lets the mystery linger.

Audiences rated the miniseries negatively, finding its true crime treatment of the Elisa Lam case unsatisfying.

• Making a Murderertrue crime docuseries structure, unexplained disappearance investigated with reenactments
• The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durstinvestigative true crime mystery, unresolved death examined through interviews and reenactment
• Wild Wild Countrytrue crime miniseries tone, dark mystery around a notorious American location

Created by

Joe Berlinger

Release Date

2021-02-10

Episode runtime

54 min

Rating

6.0 / 10 (394)

What is Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel about?

A four-episode true crime miniseries revisiting the unexplained disappearance of Elisa Lam at the notorious Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles.

What is Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel as mild.

What did critics think of Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel?

Audiences rated the miniseries negatively, finding its true crime treatment of the Elisa Lam case unsatisfying.

Which shows are like Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel?

Shows with a similar feel include Making a Murderer, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, and Wild Wild Country.

How long is Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel?

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel: 1 season, 4 episodes.

Is Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel still running?

No, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel has ended.

Where can I watch Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel?

In United States, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.