The critically acclaimed true crime anthology series ‘Dr. Death’, whose first season was released exactly one year ago, has just been renewed for a second season at Peacock. Based on Wondery’s gruesome podcast of the same name, the show’s underlying premise focuses on appalling true stories of extreme cases of medical malpractice and/or medical fraud.
‘Dr. Death’ Season-1 narrated the shocking true story of a charismatic and ostensibly brilliant Texas neurosurgeon Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Joshua Jackson). Trouble ensues when the patients operated upon by the sinister surgeon are left either permanently maimed or dead. Consequently, two fellow surgeons (Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater) with the Dallas prosecutor make it their mission to stop Dr. Death. In India, ‘Dr. Death S1’ is streaming on the Lionsgate Play OTT platform.
While ‘Dr. Death’ Season-2 would revolve around a new case based on the third season of Wondery’s podcast. The new season would follow the true story of the infamous Swiss-born surgeon named Paolo Macchiarini nicknamed the ‘Miracle Man’, who was later accused of unethically performing experimental surgeries on his patients, which resulted in their deaths.
Medical negligence and fraud cases are obviously not limited to America. They are present in almost every part of the world including India. So, it’s high time that the Indian OTT audiences are exposed to medical related true crime stories like that of the Texas neurosurgeon or the Miracle Man, in order to make people aware of the ubiquitous psychology of these dreaded criminals, and the lengths they can go to achieve their sinister motives.
For instance, some time back, it was reported by several Indian publications that an Ayurvedic doctor was arrested by Delhi Police for jumping parole. The doctor called as ‘Dr. Death’, had been jailed for life for reportedly murdering truck drivers and later disposing of the bodies in a crocodile-infested canal. He was suspected by the police for the murder of more than 50 drivers in the early 2000s. The chilling account of the modus operandi of the serial killer had sent shockwaves through the entire nation. This could be just the right kind of subject for India’s own ‘Dr. Death’ series or perhaps the next season of ‘Delhi Crime’. Are you reading this, Netflix?