Mixing present-day interviews with previously unheard recordings, this true-crime series examines serial killer David Berkowitz's mark on 1970s New York.
Latest episode: S1 E3 No One Is Safe (Jul 30, 2025)
Explore one of the greatest manhunts in New York City history, from inside the NYPD’s desperate race to catch the infamous .44-caliber killer—and into the disturbing mind of David Berkowitz himself— to newly unearthed recordings offering a rare insight into David Berkowitz's twisted psyche, revealing what was going through his mind as he unleashed a reign of terror in the late 1970s.
I’ve listened to David Berkowitz’s voice for hours now—first in the Attica prison recordings from 1980, then in the new phone call Joe Berlinger placed to his cell in 2024. The man speaks in a flat, almost bored monotone, as if recounting a dull job he once had. That’s the horror of it.
Not the gore, not the headlines, but the way evil can sound so ordinary. Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes doesn’t just revisit a case we think we know; it forces us to sit with the banality of a killer’s voice, and that might be the most unsettling thing of all.
Berlinger’s docuseries—his fourth in the Conversations with a Killer franchise—lands in a true-crime landscape that’s grown increasingly crowded, even cynical. We’ve heard killers’ voices before: Bundy’s charm, Gacy’s eerie cheerfulness, Dahmer’s hollow remorse. But Berkowitz is different.
There’s no performance here, no attempt to manipulate or seduce. Just a man explaining, in the most matter-of-fact terms, how he shot strangers in the dark. The tapes don’t offer a grand revelation—no hidden accomplice, no shocking confession—but they do something rarer: they strip away the myth and leave us with the man.
And the man is terrifying precisely because he sounds like someone you might pass on the street.
The series’ structure is familiar by now: archival footage, present-day interviews, and those chilling audio recordings stitched together with Berlinger’s signature forensic pacing. But where The Ted Bundy Tapes leaned into the killer’s theatricality and The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes grappled with systemic failure, The Son of Sam Tapes feels like a study in absence. Absence of motive, absence of remorse (at least in the 1980 tapes), absence of anything resembling a human connection.
The most disturbing moment isn’t a description of violence—it’s Berkowitz recalling how a couple he didn’t kill once asked him for help with their car. For a brief moment, he felt useful. “Oh, thank God,” he says, “I mean something to somebody, even if it’s just for a second.” Then he went back to shooting people.
"A chilling but uneven dive into the Son of Sam case that struggles to match the depth of its predecessor."
The series offers rare, unsettling access to David Berkowitz’s own words, which many find compelling and disturbing. However, viewers note that the pacing drags in places, and the documentary format feels repetitive compared to earlier *Conversations with a Killer* entries. Some appreciate the historical context, latestnetflix.com argues, while others wish it had delved deeper into the psychological aspects of the crimes.
Netflix’s latest true-crime deep dive, Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes (2025), peels back the layers of one of America’s most infamous serial killers—David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam"—using previously unheard prison recordings. The three-part docuseries, which premiered on July 30, 2025, revisits the late-1970s terror spree that paralyzed New York City, offering a rare, latestnetflix.com argues, unsettling glimpse into Berkowitz’s psyche through exclusive audio interviews 
.
The series’ biggest draw is its trove of never-before-released audio recordings from 1980, featuring Berkowitz himself. These tapes, obtained from behind bars, capture the now-72-year-old killer reflecting on his crimes, his motives, and the chaos he unleashed . Unlike the 2019 Ted Bundy Tapes—which marked the 30th anniversary of Bundy’s execution—this project focuses on Berkowitz’s enduring notoriety, decades after his arrest . The recordings, described as "chilling" by Fox News, reveal new details about his mindset, though the full extent of their revelations remains under wraps .
The docuseries blends present-day interviews with archival footage, featuring key figures from the Son of Sam case. Among them:
.The inclusion of these voices—some of whom haven’t spoken publicly in years—adds a layer of authenticity to the series, though Netflix has yet to confirm whether any of them were directly involved in securing the tapes.
The Son of Sam murders, which left six dead and seven wounded between 1976 and 1977, remain a cultural touchstone. Berkowitz’s erratic behavior—including taunting letters to police and the media—turned the case into a media frenzy. The new docuseries capitalizes on that legacy, framing the tapes as a way to "examine [Berkowitz’s] mark on 1970s New York" . Rolling Stone notes that the series explores how a seemingly ordinary postal worker became one of history’s most notorious killers, though it stops short of offering a definitive psychological breakdown .
Despite the hype, the series has sparked discussions about the ethics of giving serial killers a platform. Berkowitz, who has been incarcerated since 1977, has given interviews before, but the 1980 tapes appear to offer a more unfiltered look at his thoughts. Critics argue that such projects risk glorifying killers, while others see them as necessary for understanding criminal psychology. Netflix has not addressed these concerns publicly, but the docuseries’ tone—described as "clinical" in early reviews—suggests an attempt to avoid sensationalism .
With only three episodes, The Son of Sam Tapes is a tight, focused exploration of a case that still haunts New York. Whether the tapes reveal new clues about Berkowitz’s motives—or simply rehash old horrors—remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the series will reignite debates about true crime’s role in society, and whether some stories should stay buried.
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