Is the Copycat Killer Real? Why This Netflix Series Should Be on Your Watch List

(SPOT.ph) Between disturbing documentaries and “riveting retellings of the horrifying true stories,” the line between fact and fiction has become increasingly blurred for streaming adaptations of true crime stories.

You can see the unmatched variety on Netflix alone, where you have the choice between either The Good Nurse, a dramatic depiction of a real-life hospital nurse who murdered hundreds of patients (starring Academy-award winners Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Chastain, no less), and Capturing the Killer Nurse, a film about the same person but as a documentary featuring the real persons involved themselves. An actual coin toss there.

This distortion of reality may be a common occurrence for those who tend to go off the deep end when it comes to binging true crime. Investing yourself in the overly dramatized depiction of crime thrillers could be easy. Like, no, Penn Badgley is not his creepy character from You and you did not get cursed simply by watching Incantation.

Take for a more recent example Netflix’s crime drama the Copycat Killer. The 10-episode Taiwanese series already has people wondering if the titular Copycat Killer is real, most likely because all the real-life “copycat killers” that have been popularized in modern media. Still, every opportunity to put on your detective hat, monocle, and brooding gloom is a welcome one.

Also read: Why Is True Crime So Addictive and Is It Bad for Your Mental Health?

Is Copycat Killer on Netflix based on a true story?

Don’t be fooled, Netflix’s Copycat Killer series is not based on a true story. Netflix confirms that the series is an adaptation of the 2001 Japanese mystery novel Mohōhan (or “The Copycat”) by Miyuki Miyabe. The novel itself is a work of fiction, no doubt taking inspiration from various serial killers both from Japan and abroad.

While its source material is mostly fiction, you can definitely see the influences of previous murder dramas all over the Copycat Killer series, like blood spilling all over a canvas. The serial killer Noh desecrates and dismembers the corpses of his victims to taunt their grieving families. Of course, it also wouldn’t be a true crime drama if it didn’t focus less on the murderer and more on the psychological effects of the case on the detective (or in this case, our prosecutor Mr. Kuo, played by Kang Ren Wu). Spoilers ahead!

Also read: Meet the Family at the Center of Netflix's True-Crime Documentary Murdaugh Murders

Who even was the Copycat Killer?

The titular copycat killer of the Netflix series goes by alias Noh throughout most of the runtime, but is revealed to be the narcissistic TV reporter Chen He-ping (Jack Yao), who lives off the attention his murders get from the news and law enforcement. Chen almost gets away with it too, as his associate Shen Jia-wun (Fandy Fan) almost takes the fall for all the murders Chen committed.

Don’t worry, the series finale doesn’t go the dark or heartbreaking routes of other detective stories like David Fincher’s Se7en or Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave, as the series on a relatively happy note, with Chen’s ego growing too big as he claims to be the culprit behind the murders, thinking it’d lead to fame.

While it’s also never made exactly clear which former killer Chen is “copying” or imitating directly, they do pay some lip service to the fact that the Internet can expose some dangerous minds to some criminal thoughts.

This does leave the door open for a potential second season, should the creators ever want to follow up on the Copycat Killer’s success. We can definitely see copycat killers rising in the wake of Noh’s murder spree, which will give his confession in the end of this first season much more weight, as now he is the killer new blood will want to surpass. If that turns out to be the case, it’d be a much darker season for Mr. Kuo and his associates, who will be forced to relive the trauma of this season’s events, but brought out by another demented third party.

Also read: Dating App Meets True Crime: Woman is Murdered in Tropical Beach Meet Up

Copycat Killer is now streaming on Netflix.