Topline
A new Netflix docuseries exploring the decades-old “Outreau case,” an alleged pedophilia ring that operated in northern France in the early 2000s, has captured Netflix audiences around the world and claimed the No. 9 spot on the streamer’s list of most-watched shows in the first three days after its release.
Myriam Delay, the main defendant in the Outreau pedophilia case, leaves the courthouse in Saint-Omer … [+] in 2004.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
“The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare” debuted March 15 and was the ninth most-watched non-English show in the week of March 11 to March 17.
The four-episode series racked up 4.4 million hours viewed in its first three days and sparked a furore online, with viewers taking to X to question the handling of the case by French authorities and calling it “the most disturbing and wild documentary I’ve ever watched.”
Other viewers admitted they “couldn’t stomach the first episode” or “turned it off within 10 minutes” due to the graphic nature of the allegations.
The docuseries explores one of the biggest scandals to break in France in the early 2000s after an investigation into strange behavior by several children in a single family broke open an alleged criminal network and pedophilia ring in the working-class town of Outreau.
The children’s mother, Myriam Badaoui, admitted to sexually abusing her four children and later began to name neighbors, friends and other citizens of the town as also having participated, with a priest, taxi driver and court bailiff from a neighboring town ultimately among the nearly two dozen people accused.
Badaoui later retracted her accusations and told the court she was a “sick woman and a liar,” with the series going on to explain the “judicial tragedy” that followed the initial confessions, including the public outrage, widespread media attention, wrongful convictions and death of one accused man, François Mourmand, while awaiting trial.
Crucial Quote
“A judicial Chernobyl,” is how one lawyer described the Outreau case as it wound its way through the court system, the Guardian reported.
Big Number
18. That’s how many people were accused in the Outreau case, according to the New York Times. Ten were convicted. Six were later acquitted.
Surprising Fact
Jonathan Delay, one of the children who claimed to be a victim in the Outreau case, continues to speak out about his abuse. He published a book on his experience in 2021.
Tangent
“The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare” is one of a half-dozen docuseries to have taken off on Netflix so far this year. “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping,” a series about a school for troubled teens accused of abusing its students in the early 2000s, was last week the third most-watched English TV show (its second week in the top 10) with 10.6 million hours viewed. “American Nightmare: Season 1,” the true story of a home invasion and kidnapping in 2015, was in the top 10 shows for five weeks after its January release. Other series, including “American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders,” “Can I Tell You A Secret?” and “The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth” have also enjoyed time among the top-10 titles this year.
Further Reading the Guardian Focus: J’accuse
Nytimes A Shaken France Watches as a Vast Pedophile Trial Begins (Published 2005) Nytimes French Court Overturns Pedophilia Convictions (Published 2005) MORE FROM FORBES ‘The Program’ Docuseries Is Among Netflix’s Most-Watched: What To Know About The Real Academy At Ivy Ridge By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs MORE FROM FORBES ‘Octopus Murders’ Documentary Soars On Netflix: What To Know About True Story Of Danny Casolaro And Joe Cuellar By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs MORE FROM FORBES The True Story Behind New Netflix Hit Show ‘Can I Tell You A Secret?’ By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs MORE FROM FORBES Why Netflix Delayed The Release Of ‘Buried Truth’ Docuseries-One Of Last Week’s Biggest Hits By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs
