Of course, though many of us are still reeling from the unresolved endings of the first two seasons—from the question of who killed Jack Wheeler to the real identity of the Jane Doe nicknamed Jennifer Fairgate—Unsolved Mysteries Vol. 3 promises more thought-provoking, mind-bending cases that don’t—yet!—have a definitive answer. Naturally, we have questions about the new season—and unlike many of the series’ episodes, these actually have some satisfying answers. Keep reading for everything we know so far about Unsolved Mysteries Vol. 3.
Which cases will Unsolved Mysteries Season 3 look at?
It is not yet known which specific cases Unsolved Mysteries Vol. 3 will examine in each episode. However, series co-creator TerryDunn Meurer did provide a few hints as to what kinds of cases the producers look for when choosing which ones will be featured. Meurer said, “We look for cases that we feel or that the authorities feel would really benefit from exposure to generate some tips, to cases that have gone cold that they just think there’s something out there, like the Rey Rivera case, or in Volume 2, the ‘Death in Oslo.’” She added, “The woman that died in the Plaza Hotel—they just feel like if they can get her face out there and that composite that they presented that somebody is going to identify her. Or the case of the missing kids—if we can just get people to see and study those faces and say, ‘Do I know somebody who looks like that or who has that birthmark or that scar?’ So, we look for solvability. For sure.” The popular true crime franchise also has a podcast of the same name hosted by Steve French. Like the show, each audio-only episode focuses on a different case. While there’s no way to yet confirm if there will be overlap between podcast episodes and TV show episodes, it’s plausible that some of the featured stories may also appear in the series. Recent podcast episodes focused on true unsolved stories like the inexplicable murder of Markia Benson and the 1980 recovering of a naked, unidentified woman known as Jane Arroyo Grande Doe.
What is the release date for Season 3 of Unsolved Mysteries?
While we don’t have an official Season 3 release date yet from Netflix, a recent tweet from the official Unsolved Mysteries account announced that viewers can expect Vol. 3 to arrive sometime in the summer of 2022. The tweet added rather cheekily, “And a friendly reminder since I see so many of you getting frustrated every season: None of the cases will be solved by episode’s end as the show is—once again—titled UNSOLVED Mysteries.”
Are Unsolved Mysteries true stories?
For each new season—sorry, volume—of Unsolved Mysteries, producers and show creators delve into a list of cold cases they think may make for interesting TV. Viewers are then encouraged to submit any relevant tips or information about current episodes via the Unsolved Mysteries website. Meurer said, “We have a database of cases that we’ve selected [with] hundreds of cases. And I can say that we want to provide the same [kinds of] mysteries that we did in the first and second volume. So, you know, a variety of paranormal and murder and unexplained death cases. [We] try to feature cases that we feel are solvable.” She added, “So that’s always the goal: to solve the cases and present solvable cases for viewers to jump into.” Producers recently revealed that they have received more than 5,000 tips since the show began re-airing. And in addition to producers combing through an actual database, hundreds of unsolved cases are submitted all the time. “We have many, many stories that are submitted and it’s very hard to choose,” Meurer said. “We look for diversity of categories. We knew we wanted to do some international stories. We look for urban versus rural, the makeup of the actual interviewees, the age of a case, the age of the story, the racial profile, ethnicity, cultural… We try and create a complete diverse mix of stories as best we can.”
Do any Unsolved Mysteries get solved?
The original Unsolved Mysteries first premiered in 1987 and had a decades-long run until it ended in 2010. Over the years, more than 260 of the profiled cases on the show led to tips that solved the case. In fact, the official Unsolved Mysteries website boasts, “Of the more than 1,300 mysteries profiled in over 230 episodes, half the cases featuring wanted fugitives have been solved, more than 100 families have been reunited with lost loved ones, and seven individuals who were wrongly convicted of crimes, have been exonerated and released.” Since the reboot kicked off in 2020, producers have received more than 5,000 tips, several of which pertained to the AlonzoBrooks case. Profiled in the Vol. 1 episode “No Ride Home,” Brooks was last seen at a house party in Kansas on April 3, 2004. After his friends left him alone at the party, his body was recovered in a creek under suspicious circumstances. “Alonzo Brooks was probably [the case] we’ve received the most emails on,” Meurer said. “Lots of theories that we had already heard when we were producing the episodes, but there are some new names that have come in and that we forwarded onto the FBI. There were a lot of people there at that party, somebody witnessed what happened. We just hope that they’ll come forward.” The FBI reopened the Brooks case in 2019, and soon after Unsolved Mysteries Vol. 1 debuted, the bureau publicly offered a significant monetary reward for information regarding the case. “The FBI offering that $100,000 dollar reward, which they just announced in the last month,” Meurer added. “That was so incredible and hopefully motivates somebody to come forward with what they know in that case, because somebody knows.” And it did. After years of speculation, investigators exhumed the body and based on a new autopsy, ruled the cause of Alonzo Brook’s death a homicide. However, those responsible have not yet been identified or apprehended.
How to watch Unsolved Mysteries
Unsolved Mysteries Vol. 3 does not debut on Netflix until Summer 2022. Until then, however, you can catch up (or relive!) the first two volumes of Unsolved Mysteries, which are available to stream on Netflix via the Netflix app, online at Netflix.com, or on any smart device. Need more true crime? Catch up on the 50 most beguiling unsolved mysteries of all time.
