“I guess moral of the story is if you’re going to kill somebody do it in Texas?” ‘Murder, Mystery and Makeup’ as post-true crime

Fathallah, Judith (2025) “I guess moral of the story is if you’re going to kill somebody do it in Texas?” ‘Murder, Mystery and Makeup’ as post-true crime. Popular Communication.

Abstract

It has become a truism to speak of a resurgence in true crime media. Attention has turned to the various ways that the true crime of “boom” of the late 2010s–present, enmeshed in a new media economy with implications for access; participation; distribution; and prestige, is or is not distinct from the genre’s past. Utilizing the YouTube series “Murder, Mystery and Makeup” as an exemplar, I argue for recognition of a “post-true crime” genre, developing the term from Bolin. Building on Punnett’s establishment of the narratological codes of true crime, I argue that post-true crime incorporates, references, and subverts the codes common to true crime and introduce some new codes distinct to this emergent genre. I further argue that post-true crime should be evaluated not by rigid adherence to facts of a case but for its social and communal functions, in generating empathy and criticizing authority and institutions.