It’s no secret that we love the true crime genre at The Handbook, ranging from documentaries and podcasts, to Kaley Cuoco’s parody series. That’s why we’re definitely going to be watching HBO’s new documentary Burden of Proof – a gripping four-part series which arrived on the US platform this month.

The series tells the haunting true story of a fifteen-year-old girl who vanished from her parents’ house in 1987 with only a hastily written note left behind. What makes this documentary truly engrossing, though, is that it unpacks the claim that neither parent made much effort to acknowledge what happened, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions.

What’s Burden Of Proof About?

The documentary investigates the events before and after the disappearance of Jennifer Pandos, and takes matters into its own hands to try and uncover the truth. With her parents providing few answers, Jennifer’s brother, Stephen, decides to piece things together himself, joined by the documentarian team Cynthia Hill and Christine Delp, who both worked on the series A Chef’s Life.

One morning in February 1987, Jennifer’s parents discovered she was missing. A note saying she was fine and wanted to leave was found, but there was no other trace. However, neither Ron nor Margie contacted the police for three days and, allegedly, acted unusually. It’s these questions that led Stephen to try and investigate himself.

‌Burden of Proof takes place over a number of years, as both Hill and Delp follow Stephen in his search. Alongside interviews with various family members, including the parents, the series’ main draw is the real-time production style, as Stephen examines the fateful day in-depth, plus his parents’ personalities and backgrounds, along with Jennifer’s own life.

While it’s a sobering and tragic story, Burden of Proof is nonetheless a gripping watch, with the kind of budget and style that HBO is known for in other docs like I’ll Be Gone In The Dark. The series has attracted attention and praise in America for its riveting narrative threads and exploration of a poignant unsolved case.

Watch The Trailer

The show currently doesn’t have a UK release date but we’re expecting this to change in the coming months with Sky and NOW our top picks for local platforms set to pick it up.


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