Netflix’s True-Crime Documentary With Perfect Score Officially Takes #1 Spot

Netflix has another true-crime fixation on its hands. The Widower: ’Til Death Do Us Part surged to No. 1 on Netflix’s daily movie charts in Canada and Australia on October 2, only two days after its streaming debut, while FlixPatrol’s aggregated worldwide Netflix ranking placed it at No. 2. FlixPatrol and global Netflix ranking track its rapid ascent.

The 91-minute documentary follows journalist Dan Slepian and Las Vegas detective Dean O’Kelley through the extraordinary Thomas Randolph case, which sprawled across decades, six marriages, suspicious deaths, insurance policies, two murder trials, and one overturned death sentence. Netflix describes the film as an investigation into a killer whose charm concealed a trail of failed marriages and suspicious deaths.

Critical reaction is still developing. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists five critic reviews, but it has not yet published an official Tomatometer percentage, so a claimed 100% score should wait until the site formally calculates one.

What Happened to Thomas Randolph?

Courtesy of Netflix

Thomas Randolph was married six times, and four of his wives died, but the case that finally put him behind bars centered on his sixth wife, Sharon Causse. Causse and handyman Michael Miller were found shot dead inside Randolph’s Las Vegas home in May 2008. Randolph claimed Miller had murdered his wife during a home invasion and that he then killed Miller in self-defense. Prosecutors presented a much darker case: Randolph had recruited Miller to murder Causse, whose life insurance was worth more than $300,000, before killing Miller to conceal the scheme (per PEOPLE).

A jury convicted Randolph in 2017, and he received the death penalty. That verdict did not stick. In 2020, the Nevada Supreme Court overturned his convictions after finding that prejudicial prior-bad-act evidence connected to the 1986 death of his second wife, Becky Gault, had been improperly admitted. PEOPLE explains why the ruling gave Randolph another trial rather than ending the case.

The second jury reached the same fundamental conclusion. Randolph was convicted again in 2023 of murdering Causse and Miller, and in 2024 he received a sentence of 60 years to life, this time without the death penalty. His latest attempt to undo that result has also failed. Randolph’s appeal was dismissed by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2026, and is currently serving his sentence at Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada. Biography’s September 2026 update confirms his present incarceration and latest unsuccessful appeal.

So Netflix’s documentary arrives with something many true-crime stories lack: a remarkably current legal endpoint.

The Widower Was Nearly 20 Years in the Making

Courtesy of Netflix

What gives The Widower: ’Til Death Do Us Part its bite is not another dramatic reenactment of a notorious murder; it is access. Slepian began following Randolph’s story years before the final conviction, while O’Kelley investigated the Causse murder. Their work eventually exposed a disturbing history involving Randolph’s previous marriages, suspicious deaths, and insurance policies. PEOPLE reports that the documentary draws on nearly two decades of investigation and unusually extensive footage of Randolph himself.

Director Chris Smith, whose nonfiction credits include Fyre and Tiger King, condenses that material into 91 minutes rather than stretching the case across another bloated true-crime miniseries. Netflix’s official Media Center credits Smith as director, with Slepian among the executive producers and NBC News Studios among the production companies. Slepian’s relationship with Randolph became particularly valuable because the convicted murderer seemed remarkably willing to talk. Decider credits those interviews with giving the documentary an unusual angle, arguing that Randolph’s narcissism and appetite for attention frequently become evidence of character without the filmmakers needing to gild the lily.

The reception has not been unanimous. That divide may actually explain some of the fascination. Viewers know Randolph is in prison. The grotesque hook is watching how long it took to get him there. And judging by its immediate No. 1 finishes, plenty of Netflix subscribers are willing to take that trip. What disturbed you most about the Thomas Randolph case? Tell us your take in the comments and follow FandomWire for more Netflix true-crime coverage, streaming Top 10 updates.