The second season of HBO’s riveting true crime series, The Jinx – Part Two, continues the incredible saga of wealthy real estate heir Robert Durst and the chase to bring him to justice.
The first season of The Jinx premiered in 2015 and became an immediate phenomenon. Director Andrew Jarecki tells the story of Robert Durst, a multimillionaire grandson of New York real estate mogul Joseph Durst. Robert Durst himself crafted the story of the first season, as he willingly participated in the anthology of his association with three murders throughout his lifetime: his wife Kathleen McCormack, his friend Susan Berman, and his neighbor Morris Black. At the time of the first season’s premiere, Durst was a free man and spoke with a sense of unsettling invincibility.
The Jinx played an integral role in the next dramatic steps in Robert Durst’s story, snowballing from the bombshell finale of season one. Durst seemingly admits to murdering McCormack, Berman, and Black in his final conversation with Jarecki, saying “Killed them all, of course” to himself in the bathroom while still on microphone for the show. The day before the premiere of The Jinx’s finale, Robert Durst was arrested in New Orleans, in part due to the tenacious investigative work that Jarecki’s team had done in the first season.
The Knockturnal attended an exclusive screening event of The Jinx – Part Two, which picks up right where season one left off with the audience’s reaction to the finale. We spoke to Jarecki about what exactly makes Durst such a fascinating subject.
“He doesn’t see himself as a murderer…he feels justified,” Jarecki explains. “He sees himself as a good person.”
And unlike most wealthy heirs, Jarecki believes that Robert has little allegiance to the family that has given him his privileged life.
“Bob wants to destroy the family. So you’re watching multiple train wrecks…at the same time…he’s funny and charming. So you find yourself asking what if? And why does he do these things?”
In a conversation with fellow filmmaker Tom McCarthy after the screening, Jarecki also draws attention to Durst’s victims and their family members, some of whom were present at the screening. He expresses that although the draw of audiences to true crime stories like Durst may be a fascination with Durst himself, he hopes that his work doesn’t diminish the real tragedy and heartbreak that his victims and their loved ones have experienced.
The Jinx – Part Two promises to be a wild ride to wrap up a story that was left hanging on the edge of a cliff and will be a satisfying treat to anyone who has followed the Durst story. It premieres on HBO Max on April 21.
